Reflections of 2011...

2011 was probably the biggest rollercoaster year of my life. it had so many ups and downs and loops and arounds and every which ways.

my sense of time is kind of skewed since a STINT "year" is usually is from August- July, so i almost feel like 2011 began in August 2010.

August 2010: i went to my first STINT briefing in Chicago (also my first time to Chicago) and met the people i'd be working with/living with/ becoming a family with for the next 10 months
September 2010: lots of support raising, waiting, and trusting God as we anxiously awaited our Japan visas
October 2010: we finally arrived in Japan and started ministry as a STINT team. i started going to homeless ministry in Yoyogi Park and met Yusuke. i joined Paddy (Waseda's English club).
November 2010:
December 2010: Christmas concert and Christmas outreach party
January 2011: went to Midyear conference in Thailand
February 2011: i decided to re-STINT
March 2011: survived the worst earthquake in Japan's history, Change conference, got evacuated to Kyoto for two weeks
April 2011: came back to Tokyo, started planning for the start of the new year, went to Tohoku to do relief work
May 2011: came back to Tokyo from Tohoku, went to Waseda University Welcome Week and met at least 100 students, joined Diente FC (my soccer circle) and Odori Samurai (my Japanese dance circle), met with students and shared the Gospel with many of them
June 2011: met with students for the last time before leaving Japan, went to Hokkaido and performed with Odori Samurai for the first time, went to Nikko for debriefing, left Japan and went back to Los Angeles for 2 weeks
July 2011: came back to Dallas, raised support to go back to Japan
August 2011: found out my support deadline was August 1st- sent out emergency email and God blessed me with 50% of my support in 1 week, then the rest of it and over in the next 2 weeks, went to STINT briefing in Chicago and met my new team
September 2011: 6 month anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake and 10 year anniversary of Sept. 11, started reconnecting with students from Japan via email and Facebook, worked on raising support for my teammates, was humbled in waiting to leave for Japan until the end of September; arrived back in Japan on September 27, 2011
October 2011: settled back into life in Japan, reconnected with students, started going back to Paddy and Odori Samurai, started going to ICU High School, went to the World Gymnastics Championships, helped out with Student Impact's 2-day festival to raise money for Tohoku, went to Paddy's Halloween party, my friend from high school (Matt) visited Tokyo and we went to the Ghibli Museum
November 2011: performed at Waseda-sai for the first time, got to take several students to church, went to a Sports Festival 3 clubs from Waseda U. hosted, met a lot of new students, hung out w/ YWAM Tokyo, hit the 2 month mark of being in Japan by myself, had a breakdown from feeling alone and abandoned, was reminded of God's grace and love after my breakdown, celebrated Thanksgiving 3 times, my friend brandon came to visit Tokyo, USC beat UCLA 50-0
December 2011: went to Nagano for 2 days with Paddy, Cru decreed if the rest of my team's CoEs didn't arrive by December 7th they were sending them somewhere else, held a 48 hour prayer for the CoEs, found out Japan immigration had finally, after 4 months, made a decision, found out the CoEs were denied, found out i had to leave Japan 7 months earlier than i had planned and had to go to Hawaii to finish my STINT year, shared the Gospel with new friends, co-organized Student Impact's Christmas outreach event, celebrated Christmas twice- once with Cam's family and once with my roommates, met with as many students as i possibly could...

needless to say, 2011 was a busy year. i felt so run down by the end that i made one of my 2012 Resolutions that i would rest more. i'm now learning that i don't really know how to rest. so my new resolution is to learn how.

but in spite of everything, i grew so much, i learned so much, God showed me His love in every way possible and showed me that no matter what happens, He is ALWAYS with me and always loves me. He showed me that HIS plans are ALWAYS better, and that i can trust Him in every situation. it's not always easy, but i know i can hold on to His promises and trust him, remembering that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28

may your 2012 be blessed with joy, love and hope, and may the Lord remind you every day that "He knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

some of my favorite photos from 2011:
January: my STINT team in Thailand at our Midyear Conference
February: snow on Valentine's Day
March: before our Japanese dance performance at Student Impact's Change Conference, 3 days after the Tohoku earthquake
April: under the cherry blossoms with Paddy English Club
May: one of the girls from the evacuation center we stayed at in Tohoku while we did relief work
June: my 2010-11 STINT team at debriefing
July: getting to go to my old Artists in Action Bible study in LA
August: my new STINT Team
September:first glimpse of Japan from the airplane, 9.27.11
October: some Waseda friends at Student Impact's festival to raise money for Tohoku relief
November: my Waseda-sai Odori Samurai Group (#11)
December: Paddy Christmas Party 2011