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kiddenkat
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Name: Rachel, Rae, Kidden
Birthday: 2/14/1986
Gender: Female
Interests: My guitar and my music in general, reading, writing, befriending people, enjoying life, going crazy, saving money, worshiping and praising my Abba.
Expertise: Making a complete and utter fool of myself. Yee-haw!
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Member Since:
11/5/2003
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| Since I'm not sure who would be willing to listen to me jabber about my first day in Richmond in excruciating detail, I figure the safest bet is to casually post my thoughts/experiences unobtrusively on a now rather obscure website more for my own benefit than anybody else's.
The morning was filled with last minute packing and jamming into the nooks and crannies of my trusty neon and trying to sweep up the hurricane of crap not seen fit to bring along for the journey. It seemed each time I thought I was finished, Mom would walk into the room with another armload of stuff that I had no idea I needed until that very moment. So much for being a minimalist. I was eventually able, however, to put a stop to it and pull out of the driveway... only to u-turn moments later to return a car charger no longer rightfully mine (since Mom and I switched phones yesterday).
The car ride was delightfully uneventful, with the one exception of a catch-up phone call from the one and only Derek Raines. We summarized our lives over the past year (since I'm pretty sure its been since last July since we talked) and moved on to future hopes and endeavors. As usual, he seems to mosey back into my life whenever he feels like he has put things back in order... perhaps all the other times he is reluctant to call in anticipation of my assumed disapproval. But no, he has recommitted his life to Christ, is active in church, still works with handicapped kids, wants to go on a mission trip to India, and is on his continual journey towards a degree in English. Oh, and of course, he's single. But we're definitely not going there again.
I also discovered on the ride up that large sodas from Burger king are $2.40 in Virginia! How ridiculous is that!? I normally don't pay that much for an entire meal when I get fast food!
I arrived in Richmond about half past noon and Debra was home to help me unpack. We got the majority out, took a water break, and then pushed on through until everything was crammed upstairs. I spent the next couple of hours placing and sorting and arranging and sticking until everything was suddenly... put away. Not really knowing what to do next, I played Mahjongg on my computer (since the internet wasn't yet working) and took a shower. I eventually moseyed downstairs to read while Debra watched TV. Her daughter, Bridget, came over with some laundry and I sat in awe at their mother-daughter relationship. They really just talk to each other about everything... and nothing. I have no idea how they keep their conversations running for so long, so animatedly, and all seemingly without taking a breath. I'm not looking at them in either an envious or condescending way... it's just... different.
We had a simple dinner of chicken and green beans (I know you really wanted to know that part) and afterwards connected the computer, sat a bit, and then headed into town so Jim could get some good shots of the city as the storm rolled in. We pulled up next to the James River and literally felt the temperature drop as the chillier winds brought the storm in. Fearing a downpour, we all packed back into the car and toured the city a bit from the comfort of our seats. They highlighted several areas for me to check out. Unfortunately, most of them were followed by "You probably shouldn't come here alone though. Bring a buddy." One problem? No buddies. Suck. Guess most of my real exploring will have to wait until I actually make friends.
On the way home we stopped by Bev's - an ice cream shoppe in Carytown owned for the past several decades by a grandmother named (you guessed it!) Bev. Very cute retro style ice cream parlour. And they had Moose Tracks. Yum. We dodged the rain on our way back to the house and settled in. They watched HGTV while I flipped through a Richmond magazine trying to highlight and memorize all of the Carytown shops I want to explore tomorrow. I figure... today I kept it pretty close to home, tomorrow I'll explore the church's district, maybe Friday I'll head over to the Velocity campus to meet up with Tim, and Saturday... well, I need to figure out something to do for the 4th of July I suppose. Then church Sunday.
I'm beat. | | |
| I'm wondering at what point I can write whatever I like here, and no one will notice.
I give it another couple of months.
If you haven't figured it out already, I'm moving most of my insights to another location:
http://www.worshipintruth.wordpress.com | | |
| So, my personal warning to you all: Don't trust the cookie dough blizzards at Dairy Queen. I'm pretty sure I got a small case of YUCK from some unrefrigerated mix-ins.
I've been wasting away my days at home quite successfully for the past couple of weeks. Is it already the end of May? Things are picking up a little bit now though. I spent Memorial Day weekend at the lake house with my aunt, uncle, cousin Kendall and her son, Sam. Tuesday I'm leaving for Knoxville to spend a couple days before driving up to Indiana for Ashley's wedding (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)! I'll probably be back Monday night and possibly (maybe, hopefully, fingers-crossed) will get an invite to join a 120 mile bike trip with my uncle, cousin Gabriel, and others lasting the rest of that week. Also, Luisi has asked me to "watch the kids" the week after that as she goes through some training, which means hanging out with my awesome cousins a bit more. Ha, then THAT weekend I'll be visiting Richmond with my Mom to meet some of the people I'll be working with over the next year.
Eep! I really want a camera to capture all of these memories with! I better get my act together and buy one, huh?
It's all these little pieces that make the larger image beautiful | | |
| Ok, so.... I've officially graduated from Johnson Bible College with a degree in Bible/Media Communications with a emphasis on Audio/Radio Production. Also, I've accepted a full-time, paid internship in Richmond, VA working with the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship - a very well-established and innovative church planting organization.
On July 1st I will be moving to Richmond for approximately ten months and be based at a church downtown called Area10. My primary purpose is to fully develop and implement a fundraising campaign called Kingdom Equation which is designed to help lower-income families be able to financially support mission efforts. My task is to use "strategy, outreach, all media, internet social interaction, follow-up systems and ongoing participation for members" in order to make this campaign a success. On the side, I will also be working to help develop the Media/Arts programs of several of these church plants, which is the part that I'm the most excited about.
It seems to me, at least for the past five years, that the next step for me is always a little out sync with what I would envision for myself. Whenever I hold my plans loosely, God allows many things that I would call "good" to slip from them... and usually something a little out of the ordinary or unexpected remains. And I'm okay with that. If anything, it shows that it is God's handiwork instead of my own, because I never would have placed myself in Richmond working primarily on fundraising.
All in all, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to participate in full-time ministry almost immediately out of college. Not only that, but it is a job directly associated with my interests and degree specialty.
Jeremiah 29:7, 11-14: Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper... For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
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| As I stepped off the quickly emptying 'turtle', a rush of unexpected emotion swept over me. Call it sentimentality, but tonight an end of a personal era arrived, and i dedicated a few short breaths to it's remembrance. Tonight, after a long 14 hour trip back to Knoxville, TN and countless hours in the same vehicle over the course of a week, my career with the JBC Tour Choir was finalized.
I still remember my very first weekend out on the road. We stopped at a church in Indiana (of course) and a group of us surrendered to our more childish whims on the playground in the back: Jesse, Jo Beth, Jessica, Jeremy, Mary Ann and myself if I remember correctly. We swung on swing sets and climbed jungle gyms before sound checks began. That very first night I stayed with JB, Lyndi, and Kendra. I think it was their house that smelled just like the essence of fall - pumpkin pie or something similar, and their carpet was soft on my bare feet. After our polite conversations our hosts went to bed and we devilishly tried on their daughters dresses and sampled their long-gone son's cologne.
Ever since that first weekend out, I was hooked. Even this final semester, when I vowed to myself to have a semester off, I found myself drawn once again into the choir ranks, even if only on traveling weekends and acting as the sound tech.
This week was no exception. Exhausting, of course, and at times my patience worn thin - but the week was also full of belly laughs, impish grins, impromptu adventures, and delightful surprises. Most importantly, I got to spend a good portion of my week with some of my favorite people in the entire world... and they know exactly who they are. I can't imagine my life without you... and yet, I have no more assurances left of time together.
Yesterday was easily the best day of the week. Although the better half of it was spent in a van, the hours spent in NYC held enough adventure for the entire 24 hours. Throughout the day we explored Central Park, Times Square, China Town, Little Italy, the subway system, Grand Central Station, the M&M factory, and more.
My favorite part was when we were looking for a place with great chinese food in Chinatown and couldn't seem to find anything. I stopped to ask a shop keeper where to go and after learning she didn't speak English, I practiced my chinese... and it worked! She directed us to a great hole in the wall with some decent Duck and "Buddha's Delight" ... and we had more than enough money left over to splurge on some Chinatown desserts as well.
My second favorite was the point at which Doug, Alli, and myself were waiting for our Little Italians to finish eating a woman asked us "locals" if we knew a good place to eat. I was simply pleased we looked like true New Yorkers.
The third was a comment I overheard a good choir buddy say that I can't repeat here. But it was reeeally funny to see his reaction when he realized I had heard him.
The fourth was keeping Alli from getting raped as a shady shopkeeper rushed her off to another block, hinting that we could stay behind if we wanted... we didn't want to.
And lastly, the fifth was a little moment... running across a cross walk and holding down my beret from the wind. It felt very Mary Tyler Moore-esque, but I wasn't willing to loose the hat by carelessly throwing it up in the air, no matter how fun the idea seemed.
This week, I think, reminded me to deeply inhale these next few weeks. I just want to take advantage of whatever time I have left to absorb and exude love for those I care about... before our paths diverge all too quickly.
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