But before I catch you up on the last few days, allow me to show you what our room here looks like (or at least give you an idea). Our room is becoming increasingly important due to so many people being around, so I become more and more grateful every day that we got here early and created such a special space where we (Isaiah & I) can escape into each other's arms and prayers when things get rough or when our spirits get tired. So...here's our space:
This is what the entrance to the room on the left side looks like. We brought three categories of books for our bookshelf (we have another bookshelf next to our bed): items for staff devotions and reference, personal books, and books we can give to folks on the Boardwalk. Also pictured here are our record player and letter-writing station.
This is my special writing chair. I am incredibly social, so I knew I would need a special place to sit and write skits, blog, letter write, and simply "be" in general. The neat little shelf allows me to store folders and skits, and the small bird picture reminds me of my mommy when I miss her (because in her spirit, she is a bird: totally free from all that tries to hold her down).
Here are a few other items found in our room including our wedding shadow box (with cake toppers made by Londa on top and Geneva's picture of us inside), a St. Valentine icon from my friends the Mitchells & Megan Prahl in Colorado Springs, and there are calligraphy quotes from my friend Kim all over the room.
This is our most special place and the spot that takes up most of the room. You can see our bed, the entrance to the bathroom, and our other bookshelf (Isaiah made it of Black Walnut). And we have a painting from my best friend Jocelin hanging because seeing it every morning reminds me of the joy of remaining utterly loved.
Isaiah also added a lot of shelves to the bathroom (mostly for practicality), and he did such a wonderful job! I love that I married such a Carpenter. You know who else was one? ...Jesus! So, basically my husband is the best by default. #Logic. Here are a few of his creations:
Now, to the business of Wildwood! Thursday was fairly chill. Isaiah & I spent most of the day at Starbucks working on our Japan applications. We made a lot of headway! We knew that we needed to leave to Dunn House to work this day because a lot of people were arriving, and this was one of our last chances to get the application finished before all "heaven broke loose." :)
We returned to greet Griff-Dawg (Isaiah & I's friend) and Jed (Isaiah's brother). They're arrival made us both so incredibly happy! Having them here has simply created even more of a family dynamic and has made me feel a lot more at home and more loved than ever. They also came bearing gifts in the form of some awesome letters with a picture of Isaiah & I on the beach and many coconut nuts included!
Also, bonus: Jed and Griff are our neighbors! Their room is directly across the hall from ours. We have already been taking advantage of this. Here are Jed & Griff in a nut shell: We have Griff's shelf of Russian, Catholic, and Doctrinal Literature along with mate' items and Jed's shelf of paints, journals, and water bottle.
Thursday night, after celebrating the arrival of Jed and Griff (as well as many others), we headed to Jay Z's (the Boardwalk Chapel Director) house for a movie night. We communed with each other over conversation, ice cream and the movie "School of Rock." I learned that: my new friend Timothy knows tutting and is going to teach me, riding in a trunk with my husband is awesome, and that Jack Black scares the living daylights out of Susanna.
On Friday, Isaiah & I officially finished our Japan applications and learned that we are still on track time wise, which is awesome!
#JAPAN APPLICATIONS ARE COMPLETE!
We also prepared for the Saturday picnic with The Boardwalk Chapel staff and folks from some of the local Presbyterian Churches (which includes Jay Z's Church--Calvary). I made a killer Southern salad, and Elizabeth basically did everything else. Yay! I'm helpful? lol. We also, as a larger staff, had family dinner which was way fun because Elizabeth was feeling under the weather (not fun), which meant everyone (and I do mean everyone) had to pull together to complete a meal for all of the bellies present. Isaiah said the thrown-together, cool but weird dinner of tacos, random toppings, rice, and veggies reminded him of dinner at the Tim English's. This means he liked it. And I just liked seeing the body of Christ on display in our Dunn House. It was beautiful to watch every single staff member interacting, loving, preparing, and cleaning all together. It is my prayer that should we ever forget our love for one another, we recall this dinner.
Around 9pm, we headed down to the Chapel for Prayer as a staff. Tim Cummings, a passionate man of God and friend of the Chapel, Chris Byrd, and my baby led the night. We enjoyed singing together and praying long into the night. Isaiah, Griff, Jed, Chris Byrd, Tim Cummings, Susie, Nate, and Timothy, and I stayed until close to 4 in the morning lifting up prayers for the summer. It was a glorious time! Isaiah and I loved hearing the different voices and getting to see the gifts and talents and hearts we have here on staff displayed so openly. I believe maybe the coolest part of the evening was when a lady named Susan called in to leave a message for the Chapel, and Chris answered (since we were actually there at 2am!). She was calling to ask and talk about how to love her friend who was pretty unlovely and unloving at the moment....And get this: Love and how to do it out of not ourselves but God was exactly what we'd JUST be praying and reading scripture about. Our God truly is an AWESOME GOD! He is working already! Even though we lost tons of sleep, I hope we have a trillion more of these prayer nights! I can't even explain the power and presence I felt in that freezing Chapel.
This morning we woke up late (for obvious reasons), I had some prayer time with some of the girls, and we enjoyed fellowshipping with our new house parents! I am going to have to dedicate an entire post to how amazing the Farrells are....I mean seriously. But for now, suffice it to say #1. Zach English should be jealous of us having them. I can't wait for him to meet them especially! and #2. They gave us ALL the coolest gifts: mason jars with mini-chalkboards for our names! Now I get to match Judi!
After getting to know our house parents better, we headed to the Zoo Park for our staff picnic around 4pm (It started later due to the rain which is still present here in Wildwood). We got to meet lots of great people from the local churches, play some volleyball and corn hole, grill out (Rich & Isaiah were bosses cooking up those burgers), and praise and read the word before departing. It was a sweet, sweet time. We returned home to Elizabeth and Jay-Z laying out the rules and chores of the house and the Boardwalk. Afterwards, we ate Special Ramen from Nate, and Isaiah, Nate, Timothy and I ate some spicy noodles with our wedding chopsticks!
I can't believe how fast these last 3 days have gone, and I have a feeling that the rest of the summer is going to go about at these speed (maybe even a bit faster!) which is both terrifying & exciting. Tomorrow, Ben, Susie & I will spend some time printing and writing at the Chapel for Drama, and on Monday training starts, which in Jay Z's words (with a little of my own) means a water hose of information, doctrine, and evangelism training (some of which will be from Dr. K!), music & drama practice super speed, and tons of cray.
Continue to pray, our friends! We love you.
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