The Elephant in the Room- Gen Y

Millenials: there are various different dates given, but most people agree that those born in the late 70s/early 80s through the mid-90s fit into this category. It's a group characterized by many things, both negative and positive: tech/web savvy, family oriented, ambitious, team players, communicators,transparent in relationships, like to be loved. On the negative side, they've been characterized as narcissistic, coddled, lazy, prone to jump from one thing to another, and as having unrealistic expectations of life. As someone born in the last six months of 1979, I fall into the very tail end of Gen X, or somewhere at the beginning of Gen Y, depending on which dates you use.

 Last Tues. I found myself the youngest by sixteen years in a session on Debriefing. And the topic of Millenials came up: how challenging it was debriefing this generation, when they(we) think so differently from those doing the debriefings, most of whom are in their late 50's- early 70's. I sat there quietly listening to this discussion that went on for about thirty minutes, and came away fascinated by how disconcerted the entire room was with what to do with my generation: those in their 20's and early 30's who are serving as missionaries. They had some positive things to say, but many, many negative things. More than that was the realization that they just didn't know how to relate- that they wanted to treat younger missionaries as they had been treated, but realized that they couldn't- that there needs to be a different approach. It was really interesting to listen to their thoughts as they grappled with their unease with my generation. After all, my generation is the next generation of missionaries, so they, as caregivers, have to figure out how best to care for this generation. After about thirty minutes of heated discussion, I saw one of the Barnabas workers turn and look at me. I gave him a big grin. Later he came to ask me what I thought about all of it, and said that he wished they had taken the opportunity to ask me all of their questions. I guess they got so caught up in their discussion that they forgot that I was there. The one thing that I thought was so interesting in all of their discussion about how to reach us and the challenges associated with that is that not a single one of them brought up training up younger Member Care workers. After all, if they're having such a difficult time connecting with the next generation of missionaries, shouldn't they start training the next generation of Member Care workers?
    It was a rare opportunity to be a fly on the wall, and one which I think was good for me to hear. I think it's an issue that mission agencies need to be looking at: the disconnect between generations, and I also think that each generation should have the opportunity to hear how other generations characterize their strengths and weaknesses. I agreed with much of what they said, both positive and negative, but was a little amazed at their struggles to think outside of the Member Care box that they're familiar with. All in all, it was an intriguing experience that still has me thinking about what I heard.

PTM, pre-sessions

This week I'm in Ridgecrest, NC, right outside of beautiful Asheville, attending Barnabas International's Pastors To Missionaries conference. This is my second year attending, and I'm so incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to be back here again in the presence of so many whose hearts' desire is to serve missionaries with the goal of equipping and encouraging them so that they can be effective and vital in the battle. I arrived Monday for the pre-conference sessions(the conference officially started last night). I signed up for the Mon. and Tues. sessions on Debriefing, a topic which I think is so very important for missionaries. Yes, I've already been to a bit of debriefing training, but there are several different types of debriefing, and I think that the more training I receive from those who've done it for years, the better equipped I'll be to serve others.

Anyone remember this little turtle in transition??

The above picture is from a year and a half ago, when I went through the week of debriefing(DAR- Debriefing And Renewal) with Mission Training International and was personally debriefed. It was an extremely emotional, but highly effective time spent looking at many of the things I had experienced while living in Ukraine, and also discussing much of what I would be facing as I continued through my transition back to the States. This was one of the tools they used to help us identify where we were emotionally at that point. For me, I pictured myself as the turtle, carrying my home and all of my belongings with me, and though I knew that I would be serving in Member Care, there were many, many unknowns ahead of me(if you click on the picture, you can read some of the possible directions on the signpost).

We did this same exercise yesterday as we were looking at tools to use, and the woman leading the session suggested that those of us who had actually gone through DAR in the last two years do an update of our old drawings as an exercise to see where we are now as compared to then. I loved that idea, and this is what I came up with:

haha, awesome picture, right??

 So, though I'm still a turtle and still don't have my own home(it's still on my back, I guess), I do have a place to live and all of my bags are fully unpacked, for which I'm very thankful. And though I've still got lots of things vying for my time and energy, I feel good and centered in all of them. And I'm plugged in and operating from my local church body, which encourages and edifies me as I come and go. Plus, I'm no longer plodding along just trying to survive. I'm a speedy little turtle now- doing lots of good self care and taking care of my physical health. Doesn't this Turtle Anna look so much happier and healthier than poor little Turtle Anna going through transition?

And the winner is.....

Me!! Well, I feel like I won a prize, even though I technically didn't. Every month since January, I've been setting money aside in an envelope that says, "Bike Bank" on the front. I very quickly realized that it was going to take me well into early next year to get a decent road bike. Now, when I say decent, I don't mean a $300 bike you can pick up at Target or Wal-Mart. I mean a good, racing bike, and those start at about $1200. What does $1200 get you in a road bike, you're probably asking. Well, it gets you lighter weight, more speeds, and basically, better components. and if you're planning on doing any kind of long term riding or racing, you've pretty much got to start in that category, at the very least. The category that I dreamed to be able to purchase from is the higher end, more expensive, carbon fiber bikes- which give you super light bikes(better for racing speeds, less weight to be hauling around every ride, and made for cutting through wind- among other things). But sadly, I knew that a carbon fiber was beyond my price range, with the lowest ones coming in at $1750. And since your starting price isn't your final price, I knew it would be several years down the road before I could think of owning a carbon fiber bike. So I put that out of my mind, and concentrated on what I felt like was more attainable: the $1200 bike. In reality, however, the price I would be looking at would be closer to $1500, so that was my budget. When you add in all the extras that you also have to purchase(pedals, b/c nice road bikes don't come with pedals, water bottle cages, water bottles, front and rear safety lights, bike computer, air pump for the french valve that nicer road bikes have, and the tax, well, there you have it- around $1500. Even with scrimping by changing my cell phone plan to a cheaper plan, cutting back on groceries and gas, and various other small things, I knew it would be a good while before I'd have the cash saved to make that payment in full.

But then I was asked to help out these four afternoons a week with the family that I used to nanny for. It's not much, but it's enough that I was able to start thinking about purchasing the bike this Fall. I'd been doing research on the different women's road bikes that are out there, reading reviews, and weighing the pros and cons of used vs. new. Last month I started doing test rides, but because of the dramatic difference in feel between a hybrid and a road bike, wanted to really take my time and test ride multiple different bikes from multiple makers. And now I'm going to show you God's little gift to me:

This beauty is my brand new carbon fiber, super light weight(17 pound) road bike that I just love, love, love

Carbon fiber? I thought you couldn't afford carbon fiber. You let that salesperson upsell you?

Nope, nope. You see, this is the part about this being God's gift to me. I went in to a big shop here in Charlotte for my third test ride(this was the 6th bike I had tried out). The sales guy pulled this bike down and started going on about it being Carbon fiber, and that was the last thing I heard. I immediately stopped him and said, "Sorry, I can't afford that. I told you what my price range was." Poor guy. It turns out that he wasn't trying to upsell me, but that the manufacturer had made too many of this model and was trying to get them off the show floors since the new 2014 models are arriving. The price had been dropped and dropped and dropped to where it was that day- at an astounding 30% off. So this carbon fiber bike, which had already been dropped down to $1759 was now priced at $1134. WHAT?? um, yeah, that was even below my $1200 price point. Not only that, but it rode like a dream compared to the others I had test ridden that morning and on my other test rides. And then, when you added the tax and all the other add ons, it still only came to a total of $1395, one hundred below my budgeted price! And to make it more awesome, when my credit card bill comes due this month, I will be able to pay it in full. Pretty awesome, right?? I got a bike I thought I could only dream of owning, was able to buy it five months sooner than I originally thought, and pay for it in full. And I just love riding it! I spent the rest of the day just ecstatic over God's unexpected gift to me in this fantastic upgrade of a bike. Sometimes He surprises us in ways we could never imagine or even think to ask for. =-)

Love this bike!

Americana

Pt. 2 of our JV/Varsity/College & Career Day Trip was a visit to Mayberry(My. Airy). We somehow ended up going on the exact day that they were having "Mayberry Day," the annual tribute festival. We missed the parade and most of the folks in costume, but caught a fair amount of the crowd for a while. And let me tell you, "Mayberry Day" drew em' right out of the backwoods, as if they were members of the Darling family. Taking pics of the crowd probably would have been more interesting than what I'll show you, but it kind of made me embarrassed to be an American from the South, so I decided not to. Instead, I've decided to show you the following:

Andy upgraded from Helen

The Back Porch Bucket Band. Amusingly, they were playing along with a recording of a bluegrass band, and even did some clogging interludes

Main St. Mt. Airy(Mayberry). Mt Airy is the town where Andy Griffith was raised, and upon which his show was based

Good ol' Barn

I have no idea why these pickles were there, but since pickles are the mascot of my alma mater, I convinced Maria to hop in a picture with me. It didn't take too much arm twisting, as you can see.

Mt. Pilot

On Saturday, the youth from church went on a day trip to Mt. Pilot, and then on to Mt. Airy, the town where Andy Griffith was raised, and on which the Andy Griffith Show was based. Because I like so many of the pictures, I'm going to post them in two parts, starting with the hike at Mt. Pilot. It was a great day of fellowship, with a bit of hiking, a bit of sight-seeing, and lots of laughter. It was a rather small group, with many of our non-GBC teens there and our GBC teens not there, which gave us a really good chance to get to know the newbies and have fun with them in a relaxed atmosphere. It was actually planned for the junior high, high school, and college and career group, which is why you'll see such a broad age range in the group shot(plus a couple of kiddos along for the day).

The whole group

You have to appreciate a good photo bomb. My life- long friend, Kristie, jumped in without my knowing it. I tried to pay her back later in the day, but her attempt was much better than mine.

And then this happened: another great picture that one of our highschoolers says pretty much sums up the two of us

And there was a great little seat up in the rocks

And a fuzzy caterpillar enjoying the view

Pa-le-ohhhh

So, my attempt to be more organized with my time has me out the door early, making phone and Skype calls from the coffee shop down the street. This has been my office five days a week ever since I returned to the States, but in an attempt to cut my budget, I was staying home this past month. Here's the conundrum that I face, however: stay home and get less done, but save $15 a week, OR get to the coffee shop, spend the $15 a week on drip coffee, and get more done. I've decided that I need to return to my more efficient ways, so I've returned to the coffee shop. I just can't get stuff done at home, because I get too distracted!

So here's a quick Paleo update. Yep, I'm still doing that crazy "diet," eating that crazy way: meat, veggies, fruit, and nuts; very little sugars other than from fruit, and when I do, it's honey or maple syrup, or 85% dark chocolate. I had read that your body will get to a certain point where it just stops losing weight and then you have to switch things up. I lost a steady 5-6 lbs. per month for 11 months, and am grateful for that, but have been on a plateau since April, and am tired of it. Though I'm very pleased with all the progress I've made, and am super active and in good shape now, I've still got 15 pounds to go to get into the "normal" weight category for my height, and would like to get a safe 10 pounds under that. That would put me at 135 pounds. Yep, I just told you what I want to weigh, and if you do the math....what I weigh now, and what I weighed before I started down this path. =-) And I'm not a bit ashamed of my current weight, because I've worked super hard to get to this point. And yes, for those who get concerned about my goals being unreasonable: Yes, a fair amount of my weight now is muscle weight. I get that. I cycle a ton, swim 3-4 hours a week, do 1-2 hours of Zumba a week, and have just added in a bit of running(Shocker! I never thought THAT would happen- haha). So, yes, I've got muscle. But....I've still got fat, too, and a bit more than I need to have.

Soo, what do you do when you hit a plateau and stay there? Ugh, you have to resort to the very terrible thing called calorie counting. I've not counted a single calorie during any part of this journey(Paleo discourages it). However, when you've got nothing else you can cut out of your diet(no soda, no ice-cream, no junk food, nothing), you've got to do something. So I've begun the arduous task of counting those calories. And I admit that I counted very carefully last week....and not so wonderfully this week. It's just Soooo hard when I'm exercising this much, and my body is telling me to replenish, replenish!!!! It kind of screams at me some times, so it's a bit of a balancing act until I get it figured out. But, I'm still loving this way of eating. I'll say it over and over again, "It's not a 'Diet' in the way that people now think of that word. It's a way of life, not a diet to lose weight. I don't plan on hitting 135 and then reverting to processed, high sugar foods. I plan on eating this way from now on out. My body feels so much better, free from the indigestion and bloating that gluten foods bring, and the crazy drainage and sinus problems that come with dairy. Do I eat foods containing those on occasion? Sure! And I enjoy them. But they won't and can't be a regular part of my daily food choices, because they're not good for my body or for me. So for now, I'll sacrifice, and instead of having one avocado in my salad, I'll just have half of one, and instead of putting nuts on top of everything and in everything, I'll choose to eat my nuts after workouts, and I'll be a tad more careful about how much coconut milk I pour into my coffee. ;-) I still get to eat great, and be healthy, which is what this journey is about, right? My body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and I want this temple to be in tip, top shape, so that it can be used to its utmost for His glory. As my mentor says, "Self care enables you to better care for others."

I LOVE banana pancakes!! 2 eggs, one banana, 1 tbsp, almond meal(you can do it w/out, but it helps it flip better), and pumpkin pie spice. Yum!

An absolutely amazing creation: coconut milk, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, bellpeppers, smoked turkey, cajun seasoning, and Hungarian Paprika. So good!!

Pumpkin! I love that Fall is here and with it comes pumpkins. And pumpkins are yummy! Most people consider this a decoration, but it's a member of the gourd family, and quite tasty! I made a yummy dinner the other night of onion, apple, chicken sausage, spinach, and pumpkin puree on top. I can't wait for pumpkin pancakes this Saturday, and roasted pumpkin. Yummo!

September's almost over!

So, I just realized that I haven't written on here in a month. Oops. I think I said that last time, also. A month ago, the family that I nannied for before moving to Ukraine asked me to help them out on a temporary basis. Because I was really wanting to get the road bike I've been saving for, I agreed to help them for a couple of months. Basically, their girls are in ballet six days a week, and they need someone to meet the girls at the bus stop, work on homework, and take them to ballet. They only need help four days a week, at a max of two hours each afternoon. That sounded reasonable to me........and yet, it's been quite a challenge. Though most of my Skype calls are over by the time I leave to meet the girls, there were other things that I was doing during those two hours, that now has to be shifted to other times in the day. Honestly, the adjustment has been a little rougher than I thought it would be. Then there were two Thursday through Sunday trips to the beach, which completely threw me off schedule: a JV and Varsity Retreat, and the Ladies' Retreat. Just adding in that one seemingly little schedule addition is forcing me to think through my scheduling of events much better. Thankfully, the time change will happen soon and I can get out to get my exercise done earlier. I joined the YMCA at the beginning of Sept. to be able to alternate between cycling and swimming days, so I ride my bike to the Y and then swim for around an hour, or I head out on a 20 or so mile ride. After I get home and get cleaned up and eat, I begin my Skype calls, and am usually finishing those up right as it's time to head to the girls. I'm still working my way through the "funding Your Ministry" book, and am busy formulating a workable plan for raising more support. And yes, I know I said I'd write about the joys of support raising- I still plan on doing that. With Zumba, cycling, swimming, mentoring, Varsity(and all the activities that go with it), I'm definitely needing to get myself thoroughly adjusted to this change in schedule, and make sure that I'm not short changing any of the missionaries that I keep in regular contact with. Actually, I think it's good, because it's forcing me to be very organized and to prioritize my days. Before, I could shift things around easily, but now I've got to really stick to a plan in order to get everything into each day. And though it's taking me a little while to adjust, I'm glad that I can help them out for a while, and ultimately, be able to purchase my new bike without going into debt!

JV/Varsity Fall Retreat. We had a great four days of fun, fellowship, and studying John Eldridge's book, "Epic." There were actually more leaders there than kids, but we're super excited about this year's group of JV and Varsity students, and getting to disciple them and be a part of their lives.