Shannon Goes To Rwanda

If you know me or have read my about me button, you know that I love doing missions trips. I loved going on them as a student in school and over the last few summers have had the privilege of being a leader on several high school trips. Recently I was presented with an opportunity to go on a trip through my graduate school to Rwanda November 10-20.

Since May 2010 I have been working on my M.Ed. in School Counseling through Liberty University. I absolutely love the school and feel as though I have gained so much from my short time studying with them. I was excited to hear about a missions opportunity that would involve learning about global politics, learning and implementing crisis counseling, and witnessing the reconciliation that is currently happening in this small but powerful country. I applied to join the team and was selected as an alternate in the event that someone could not go.

Tuesday evening I got an email stating that I was being invited to join the team. I was ecstatic. The only catch is that I now have a shorter time to raise the money. I need a total of $3,750 and need $2,250 of it by September 2^nd. A very generous donor has offered to match funds. So what I am asking is will you partner with me and help me go on this trip so I can hold orphans and hear their stories and get to implement some the counseling things that I have learned?

If you can help me financially, you can do so online by going to www.luglobal.com/payments and entering my name (Shannon Madara) as the campaign member. All donations are tax deductible.

I would also really value your prayers and encouragement as the team and I prepare to travel.

You can also read about what the last team did by going to http://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=28575

If you have additional questions, please email me.

From Haiti- Photo by Matt Parks

#73. Make A Blanket

Prior to last fall, I had never completed knitting a scarf and never, ever thought I could have the patience to make a blanket. But it was on my life list and so I decided to start working on it last winter. I took a break from it in the spring and FINALLY finished it about a week and a half ago. It's not a masterpiece and I wish it was a little bigger, but I'm pretty proud of it.

With A Whimper

At the Leadership Summit last week Bill Hybels spoke in the initial session. One of the things that he said has been buzzing around in my head. I'm not sure if I can completely agree with it. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said that the way we finish something is how we will be remembered and said not to finish with a whimper. On some level I get that. I know that as a leader you have to know when to quit and move on rather than taking people down with you. The whole "quit while you're ahead" idea. I get it, and I know that in some areas leadership is different from our everyday lives.

At the same time, I played sports in school. In field hockey one of our mantras was to "leave everything on the field." If we came off the field and were not on the verge of collapsing, we were not playing hard enough. When I was a captain and was a leader on my team, I knew that I really had to embody this. I'm not sure that I was always the best example in this area, but I knew the principle.

I think I tend toward the latter idea in my life. I'd rather go all out and give my endeavors everything that I have. I'd rather finish with a whimper than know that I still had more energy that I could have given.

Thoughts?

Boxes

On Saturday I had breakfast with one of my closest friends, Emily. On the way to the restaurant I passed a man who was evidently homeless. He was dirty, disheveled, and was carrying several very full bags. I felt sorry for him and offered up a quick prayer that God would bless him. I was content to go on with my day

...but then he came into the restaurant

He took up an entire table for four and simply sat there the entire time we were there and apparently stayed after that. He didn't buy anything, just sat there. I found myself getting annoyed. He was not a paying customer and had no right to be in the restaurant with me, someone who was eating. After all, he was dirty. 

It took me a minute to realize the error of my thoughts. I was fine with him when he was far away (at least the other side of the road), but when he came close my attitude changed.

Not long ago I was talking with a friend and sharing about my love for short term missions trips. I got really honest and said that in some ways I find them easier than service projects around my area. I said that I can go and make a small impact, but then put the suffering and devastation that I've seen into a little box labeled "Haiti" or "Belize" and essentially walk away from it. Certainly I pray for the people and the situations, but I don't have to see it everyday. 

Recently I've realized that this needs to change somehow. I've been exploring ways that I can live in an area and make an impact there. And it terrifies me. But something has to change.

An image of an IDP Camp from the box marked "Haiti"

Fired Up

Today I spent my day serving at the Global Leadership Summit simulcast. I swear my brain is still spinning from hearing all of the great speakers. My absolute favorite was Mayor Cory Booker- not only was he incredibly inspirational, but he was really funny as well. He is definitely a political figure I will have my eye on in the next few years. With a background in political science, I love to hear people in government who are fired up about their faith as well as their country. 

In preparation for hearing Michelle Rhee tomorrow, I watched Waiting for Superman tonight (and literally cried through half of the movie). Check it out-it will make you angry about the current state of our education system. I'm already fired up to do something about it and I haven't even heard the woman speak yet. I cannot wait to hear her tomorrow. 

Rest

I don't do downtime well.

Don't get me wrong, when I am busy, all I want is for a day, an evening, or even an hour just to relax. And I am busy allllllllll the time. I am constantly juggling work, school, church, and trying to have some semblance of a social life (read: this part doesn't really happen much) that just looking at my schedule for the week is typically exhausting.

Except for right now.

You see, I crammed my undergraduate degree into 3 years and took extra courses during the tiny winter session breaks as well as over summer break, and took up to 21 credits a semester all while working 25-35 hours a week. I don't recommend this AT ALL. I'm really not sure what I was thinking. During those 3 years I had one 3-week break from classes.

So I decided that when doing grad school I would slow down.

That didn't happen.

I started grad school less than 2 weeks after graduating from college. And I did not take a break-I was actually at school on New Year's Eve this year. RIDICULOUS! Again, not recommended.

Somehow, though, this summer a golden window of 17 days of break appeared. No school work. No work (all the programs I substitute for during the summer are done until school starts again). And not many commitments at church.

I thought this would be amazing. But folks, its day 4. DAY 4! And already I'm climbing the walls, bored out of my mind. Apparently I don't do rest well.

Can anyone relate to this?

The Sister

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there." ~Amy Li

I consider myself to be really blessed with a sister, who over the years has changed from being a sometimes annoying playmate to a genuine, beautiful, smart woman who is my closest friend (even if sharing a bathroom with her does still drive me nuts sometimes :)) This summer has given us a chance to do a bunch of fun things together. Yesterday was no exception.

Next Sunday I'm doing a fun Trash the Dress shoot with Heather and some of her friends. We both had off yesterday morning so we decided to take Spencer over to the park and do a quick photo shoot so could play with the settings on my new camera.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Larger Than Life

On Saturday, the sister and I went to see New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys or NKOTBSB in concert. Our seats were so close that we had to have our hands stamped and got to stand at the fence along the stage. It was pretty great. I'm not typically the screaming fan type, but being this close...well, we went with the crowd on that one. We had such a blast together.

New Kids on the Block may have been a little before our time (we were Backstreet Boys' generation girls), but we do love Donnie Wahlberg- especially on Blue Bloods.