Remembering Cris

I just realized I can spend time drafting blog posts in Word and then paste them into my blog… instead of paying attention in class…

Right now our lives have been pretty uneventful. Something that’s shaken me a little is the death of a friend from college. My friend from Romania, Cris Bratu-Ene, was a really great guy. He was VERY smart, very friendly, very perceptive of people (I interviewed him for my thesis on intercultural conflict). He drowned on June 4^th at the lake with friends. He somehow got separated from the group and drowned. Nobody knows what his last moments were like. He is going to be buried in Romania. My first thoughts were about his parents, how heartbroken they must be to know so little about how their child lived or died. But I know they must be proud of Cris. He led a Bible study and I know this is something his parents supported. His parents are Christians in Romania where it is very hard to be a Christian. Cris told me that if you are a Christian, you could get SPIT ON!

Anyway, secondly I was shocked because he was my age. He turned 22 in February. He touched a lot of lives and helped make SO MANY people feel welcomed to UCA. I know I played a small part in making him feel welcomed because I remember when he came to UCA. I was on Team Global. I don’t think we ever hung out much, but I always remember his first two semesters. Anytime I would see him and ask him how he was doing he would tell me all about his crazy HARD science classes. He spent a little while overwhelmed by studying at first. I think being able to plug in at BCM and Conversation Club really helped him to come out from under the burden of school stress.

I know God is rejoicing that His son came home. And I know Cris is celebrating with his Father. But I know so many people on earth who are crushed by the loss of this 22 year old beam of light. Please pray for Cris’ family and friends.

The following is something he wrote. It’s one of only two posts on his blog:

Don’t bother me with souls to save I have my own agenda. There’s school to do, sports to play, important stuff to attend to. Don’t bother me with my friend at work, he’s got his own religion. I don’t have time to change his mind, he’ll make his own decision. Don’t bother me with that little girl, the girls playing in the street. She’s much to young to understand that the Savior she could meet. Don’t bother me with the sounds I hear, the sounds of people shrieking. Although I wonder who they are, who are these people screaming? Don’t bother me with who they are, I really don’t want the blame! ‘Cause its my friend at work and that little girl who from hell scream out my name. But don’t bother me.

A lot of LEARNING

So, I wasn't planning to take a class this summer. But I'm currently sitting in PUAD 6040 Public and Nonprofit Budgeting. I'm in a Kay Arthur Precepts Upon Precepts Bible study of James. Shin and I started going to John Schneider's Budget class at church. We watched "Waiting for Superman," "IOUSA," and "Inside Job." It's been a lot of learning going on around here. For someone who generally tunes out a lot of the bigger issues because I feel ineffective AND like they don't affect me- I'm seeing why that thought process might be wrong. Could it be that I'm growing up? Taking the world's problems seriously? I hope so. It's a little more stressful and headache prone, but it certainly has better conversations (like I learned what a CDO and a dropout factory are) and I feel like I understand the world I live in a little better. Which means I'm a little closer to understanding God's plans and His role for me in it.

New Bookshelf

Well, we got a new bookshelf! Actually it's an old bookshelf from my room at home. I guess I've had it in my room since I was 12. But now it's in our house and I really like it here. It's full of good books that we like and like to read or want to read. For some reason it just really makes me feel like my living room is much more livable.

We like our house, we like it a lot. But we don't like just buying stuff to put in it. The other day I was looking around in amazement because probably 95% of the furniture and decor are gifts. Which I think is amazing. Now it also means there isn't really a theme and not everything matches, but I love being able to look around in my home and to know that almost everything I see is a little piece of love from someone else.

Anyway, it's getting to be summery. Shin's job is better. I still like my job. I think this is going to be a good year #2 of marriage.

A tail of two kitties

Ugh. This post is starting off disappointed because I wanted to upload a picture of Bart showing how he has it made in the shade, but I can't upload from my phone. I know, 'woe is me, my privileged lifestyle smart phone won't do exactly what I want when I want it.' anyway, all that to say, possibly a picture to come if I decide to edit this post from a computer.

What this is really about is that in two days we are going to be a two cat fam, and I am excited. My coworker is going on maternity leave and we get to keep her cat for a while (at least a month) and I think Mia is going to be a great addition to our home. Bart is super spoiled and shin always plays with him alls the time. Now at least I'll have a cat too, or the cats will entertain each other. Anyway- yay temporarily two cats!

(another yay: actually survived reading a tale of two cities. The real, unabridged one. It almost killed my reading kick, but the ending was good.)

Let's see how far we've come

Yes. I ripped off Rob Thomas. But seriously, it's been almost a year since I graduated from one of Arkansas' finest institutions of higher learning (UCA). Almost a year since I chose to marry the L of my L and A of my E. I moved far from the home I love, but here with my love, I'm home (FOTR). I started a new job and gained experience, confidence, and friends. We have two (three?) new churches and are finally getting into the community here. And now, as I rock beside the crib, listening to the baby's sleepy sighs,

I'm so glad to be babysitting!

Grad, marriage, move, job... That's plenty for one year.

Gross.

The Bible is gross. I mean, consider this from Deuteronomy- 53 “The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you. 54 The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children. 55 He will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring—the flesh of one of his own children—because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns. 56 The most tender and delicate woman among you—so delicate she would not so much as touch the ground with her foot—will be selfish toward the husband she loves and toward her own son or daughter. 57 She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can secretly eat them. She will have nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.'

A woman is eating her own baby AND the bucket of afterbirth. Barf in my mouth and in my pants. But I gotta be careful bc that lady will try to eat it. Anyway, the context o this passage is that immediately preceding it, God says 'obey me and I will bless you beyond your wildest dreams. Just follow my rules and you'll be the coolest, bestest people to ever rock the planet.' (paraphrase mine) He then goes on to say 'disobey me, and I will destroy you until there's just a few of you left.' hence the starvation and siege by enemies. His message is very clear, very specific, and even very loving. He talks about wanting to bless the Israelites like crazy. But, they (we) blew it.

I feel stunned that the Israelites could read about the threat of eating afterbirth and not be moved to full-fledged righteousness and submission. But I have the promise and hope of eternal life (which they didn't have) and I still choose to eat afterbirth. (figuratively- gross!)

Alright.

I'll post something. Val sent out another letter and I feel like I have to keep up. So, Jun, Shin's co-manager, got fired. It all boiled down to gossip, pride, and greed showing up in a lot of people... which sucks, because we all love Jun. He's a hard worker who's still trying to find himself, but a great guy and would bend over backwards if you asked him (which is a big deal because he has a lot of back problems!). Anyway, I lost some of the warm fuzzies I had about some people, but all-in-all it's been a learning experience. I'm also learning that life is NEVER something you can count on being how you expected. Which is okay, I have a feeling it's going to be way more adventurous than I was thinking it would be. I'm excited.

Also, my class is winding down and I should be writing a paper instead of writing this blog to no one.