Snow in October

This weekend we got hit by some historic OCTOBER SNOW. It was a little ridiculous. The roads got slushy and then slick very quickly, but the snow on the colorful leaves was pretty cool looking. On our way back from a grocery store/redbox run, Heather and I stopped in our neighborhood to take some pictures.

Hershey Park in the Dark

After running the Hershey Half Marathon, I got free tickets to go to Hershey Park in the Dark, so my mom, sister, and I went on Friday night. Apparently we picked the coldest possible weekend to go, but it was still a blast.

Heather and I decided to wear our fun winter hats since Halloween was approaching, although I don't think we really needed an excuse to wear them. That was the extent of our costumes for the evening, though we did see some really cute kids dressed up. My favorite was a little guy who was probably about 6 years old in full Harry Potter garb. The rest of his family was dressed up as other HP characters. I thought about taking a picture of him, but I didn't want to be that creepy lady taking pictures of little kids at the park.

#25 Earn B.A. {Life List Wednesday}

In May of 2009 I graduated from Millersville University with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Government and Political Affairs with a minor in International Studies. I worked really hard and graduated in 3 years, but I skipped graduation. Instead I went to help out at the all-nighter for Circl3 (our high school ministry) and hung out with some great students. I think it was way better than my graduation would have been.

Not my photo

In preparation for our trip, my Rwanda missions team is reading The Bishop of Rwanda by John Rucyahana, a man we will get a chance to meet when we go there. I think it is an excellent book because he not only explains the causes of the genocide, but also the stories of individuals and the role that the church has played in the reconciliation process. I won't lie, though, it has not been an easy read. There were a number of moments where I wanted to put the book down as the content was too heartbreaking to continue reading.

But then I realized that closing the book does not change the fact that those events happened.

And so I continued reading. And the more I read the more I became impressed with this tiny country that I have the privilege of visiting in a couple of weeks. It's a country that has faced horrors on such grand scales, but who has let forgiveness in and has decided to rebuild. In spite of all of the tragedy, they are rising above. We're going there to teach in schools and teach crisis counseling, but I have a feeling I may learn more than I teach.

"...there was something more-a determination to defy the undefiable. Perhaps nothing seems as complete and final as the idea of genocide, and now these people were standing up to be challengers to that finality. The Tutsi would survive. Rwanda would survive. They would make certain of it."
~From The Bishop of Rwanda

Stories

At the beginning of the month at drama practice we watched Donald Miller's talk from a conference he was at a few years ago. He talked about story-basically what he covers in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (an excellent book-I highly recommend it). I'll try to put this in a nutshell (try being the keyword here). He discusses what he learned about creating a story while trying to turn his memoir Blue Like Jazz into a movie. He and the writers of the movie tweaked his story into something that would be worth watching in a theater until there were parts that did not remotely resemble his actual story. And through a series of excellent points and examples, he inspires the viewer/reader to live a story that would be worth telling to others or worth watching on the big screen. He talks about how the strength of the hero of the story can be found in what would be lost if he or she died and did not get to complete what he/she had set out to do.

I walked away from that night convinced that I needed to pursue a certain avenue to make my life a story worth telling. It would involve following a path that I've seen be very rewarding for others. But over the last few weeks I've begun to wonder if maybe doing that would simply be trying to live out the stories of those others rather than making my own. And I've seen enough movie remakes to know that it doesn't always work to try to make the same story happen again (Clash of the Titans anyone?)

While I don't know exactly what the next chapter of my life is going to look like, I started thinking about what the previous chapters of my life have looked like. Most of them I'm proud of. I've been to a number of countries where I've held orphans, built houses, cleaned out warehouses, and showed the love of Jesus in a variety of other ways. I have stories to tell of school and church, and adventures in substitute teaching. 

But there is a chapter that up until this week I wished I could cut from the story. At a time in my life when I thought little of myself I chose to date a guy who did not respect me or treat me the way, as a daughter of the King, I deserve to be treated. I lost weight-a lot of weight, I was stressed, and my relationship with my family suffered. It took a long time for me to connect all of these factors together. 

Anyway, this week through an interaction with a student at my internship, I saw my story a little differently. I could relate to a student who is going through a difficult situation because of this chapter in my story. As I drove home from my internship that day I thanked God for the first time for that chapter. I have a desire to work with students who are troubled in one way or another, but I have a hard time relating to many of their situations. This week I realized that I can use that chapter in my story as a blessing to connect with some of my students.

"In God's hands your mistakes aren't open cuts, they're healed scars that tell stories of hope other people need to hear." ~John Acuff

#22 Run In a Race {Life List Wednesday}

I was hoping to cross this one off the list at the same time as #23, Run a Half Marathon. Unfortunately the half marathon I wanted to sign up for sold out. Instead, I convinced my sister to run a 5K with me. I wouldn't say it was "fun," but it did feel pretty amazing afterward...but that may have been the free massages they had for runners afterward.

#24 Carve a Pumpkin

Today was a double whammy- I also carved a pumpkin with my LIFE group which meant that I could cross #24 off of my Life List. We got together to celebrate the October birthdays in the group, eat a strawberry pie dessert, and carve pumpkins. It was a blast. It's honestly hard to believe that I've only known these people for under a year because they are some of my favorite people to hang out with.

And yes, I did wear an apron while I carved the pumpkin because I am a super messy person.

#23 Run a Half Marathon

23 is off to a running start!

Today I turned 23, so it was only appropriate that I cross of #23 on my Life List and run a half marathon. Between my internship, work, and my last grad class though, I have barely had any time to train for this thing in the last two months. While I certainly wasn't as fast as I had hoped I'd be, I'm thrilled that I actually finished. 

Some photos from the race taken by my mom and sister

And an applicable quote that I love

Wrestling

Okay, so I promised to post as soon as my paper was done-my last graduate school paper. All I have left now if my internship and final portfolio before I graduate. Finally the paper is done! I had hoped to finish it two weeks ago, but, well, that just didn't happen. Anyway, it's done.

I've been wrestling with a lot of thoughts lately. Now that I'm in my last semester of school, I'm applying to a number of different jobs. And that has gotten a bit frustrating. It is hard because some of these jobs I really want, but i have a hard time believing that giving them a few pieces of paper is going to convince them to take a chance on me. {cue Mamma Mia music}


It's hard too because I can't seem to decide what I want the next chapter of my life to look like. Some of my options would possibly make life more difficult but be immensely rewarding. Some of my options are a bit safer, but have potential to be incredibly rewarding as well. And so I wrestle back and forth with whether God is telling me to take a big chance or if I should be smart and responsible and take the safer route. It is one of the hardest decisions I've had to make. 


I know I'm not being overly specific here and that may be confusing. When I get a job offer and accept it I will explain my choice in some more details. I also know that this is a stage that nearly every college graduate goes through. A few months ago my amazing friend Kara was telling me all about her search for jobs and I knew I was about six months away from the very same feelings she was having. FYI- it worked out great for her-she got an amazing offer at a place she dreamed of working. 


I won't lie, I'm hoping for something similar...and trusting in the One I know has things figured out even when I don't.

Why a picture of a cactus?
Because this whole decision making
 process is a pain. And I have no other relevant photos

#19 Go Snowboarding {Life List Wednesday}

When I was down at school for a class last August, I got to try out the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Center. It is this great ski slope, but instead of real snow, it is basically the turf equivalent of snow. It is incredibly hard to describe, but kind of feels like the rough side of velcro with mist coming up. I know it doesn't sound great, bit it is really cool. A bunch of people from my class went up and I got to snowboard for about 2 hours. I was not very good...and I was very sore the next day.

Almost There

Well this is not the deep and meaningful post I promised, but it is a Rwanda update. See here and here for previous updates


Alright folks, here is the deal, my final deadline is coming up on October 10. I still need about $1,000 to meet the final deadline.

Thank you to everyone who has donated and all those who have been praying for me throughout this process. I could not have gotten this far without you.

If you are still interested in donating, you can go here (use my name: Shannon Madara).

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me.

~Shannon

#17 See Ellen and/or The View {Life List Wednesday}

My first semester of college I only had classes until 10:50, so I'd go over to the gym on campus and do the elliptical and bike for an hour and watch the View. Since NY City is only a few hours away and my mother and sister and I enjoy going there, I signed up for tickets to go see it. We got to go in July 2008 just before The Dark Knight was released and got to see Gary Oldman who was their guest as well as hear what the ladies thought of the new Jolie-Pitt twins' names.

It was a neat experience, but not quite what I expected. We waited in line for a few hours, it was really hard to hear what they were saying at times and the gifts we got were a Yankee Stadium book and a large set with body wash, lotion, etc. in it and they were heavy. We ended up getting what we called a hobo cart to wheel them around so we could do some more sight seeing and not have permanent back problems.

I still think it would be cool to see Ellen. Ironically, I really don't ever watch the View anymore.

Apparently senioritis happens in grad school too. I promise I'll be back soon-as soon as this paper is done!