I'm Home

Just saying that i am happy to be home...sleeping in my own bed. Can't wait to catch up with you all. More too come....but i have some catching up to do with my mommy and sara.

11Days

It is so hard to believe that I will be coming home in just 11 days. Thats past couple weeks here have been really great, and make it that much harder to want to go home. I've been doing a tiny bit of siteseeing, but mostly just hanging out with people from the area. I spent and extended weekend at some friends house. They go to a different church than I go to here in Birmingham. It was a real blessing to just hang out with a bunch of girls for the weekend. Talking out my thoughts on life, church, and God with people that have not been a part of my entire journey was really helpful. We also had some great times laughing and just being plain silly.

This week has been the week of eating at peoples houses for dinner. I am still so amazed and feel so blessed by the genourous hearts of the people I know there. Unfortunately though, I chose to be in England for the hottest summer of the year. Tuesday was the hottest day in Birmingham since 1911! It's been pretty bad. However today is grey and cool, just like an English summer should be. I hope it lasts all day...i am so sick of the heat.

PS I tried to get pictures of my trip to Ukraine on my blog, and was unable to. If you go to www.myspace.com/jpalmquist you can check though pics out!

I am so excited to be going to London on Monday. Carrie and I are going, and planninsg to see as much a we can. The best part is, we have tickets to Les Mis on Tuesday night! I just can't believe I am going to see a West End production of Les Mis (I know you are jealous).

"Remember me, Rescue Me"

"Imagine what would happen if we looked at the world the way God does; if we shared his outrage, indignation, his compassion for the victims of injustice, the vulnerable, the forgotten. Imagine if we really loved others in the way that God does, without restrictions, without prejudices. Imagine if we took seriously his command to do justice every morning, to 'rescue who has been robbed.' In Brazil, in Africa, in Palestine, In Iraq, in our country, in our own communities...

...We would turn the world upside down."

Quoted from "Remember me, Rescue me" by Matt Roper (visit www.mattroper.com)

26 Days

I can't believe I will be back home in 26 days! To those who are missing me, it may seem like ages, but to me it is the perfect ammount of time to get some good relaxing and fun time in during the (dare i say it) beautiful English summer weather.

To wrap up my time in Ukraine: The first this is, I learned a whole lot...more about myself than than the country. It would be hard to even begin on the things that God taught me. I have been both humbled and encouraged. Being in place with little everyday comforts really brings out both the best and the worst in people. Getting out the worst parts, has been really helpful in me bringing them before God. While I was away I had a lot of time to read. I read through Vineyard History and church planting books, as well as books on prayer and The Spiritual Disciplines. Having long periods of time to read, pray, and journal were really challenging to me at first, being such a never stop going person; however those times were really fruitful. I think my #1 goal when i get home is to learn how to say no! Overall, I really feel that we as a team laid a really good foundation for the start of this new Vineyard in Odessa. And even if we didn't, through service, we simply showed love and kindness to God's people....and thats what it is really about anyway.

Being back in the UK has been great. Coming back to Birmingham really felt like coming back home. It has been great to reconnect with people here and enjoy the sound of the English language. Last Night, the girls and I threw a 4th of July Bash which was a lot of fun. We had an all out american bbq complete with marshmellow salad (the brits were a bit confused that it wasnt served as "pudding") and baked beans. It was really cool to honor those who have supported us over the past 6 months.

Hmmm...

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed when I think about my future. There are so many things I want to do and so many things I want to learn and the more I do and the more I learn, I realize how little I really know! It's humbling and very fustrating all at the same time. I am sort of afraid that I will get so caught up in the many directions I'd love to go in, that I will just get stuck waiting tables in Hamden, CT the rest of my life. I know that I should just take one day at a time and take the oppurtunities that come to me, but i guess the reality of the fact that I have no idea what is happening next is actually hitting me.

I gave up so much to be here. I gave up a nice neat little 10 year plan to try and figure out what God wanted me to do....unfortunately I think I am more confused that before the whole thing started.

I do know, that I love children, love england, my heart beats faster when i think about italy, and I really want to see churches grow with people who really are passionate about prayer and about serving their community. But I also know, that most of my prayers have been back at home for my family and my own church in CT.

A few Thoughts...

Just had a great day shopping with Carrie. We surrived a day wondering the city and roaming a really fun market on the little Russian we have learned along the way. I am very proud of myself! I bought myself the best souvenier ever. It is an apron that has a patchwork Matruska doll on it. It's all different fun fabrics. I bought it from a lady who made them herself, so it is one of a kind! Anyway, when i was looking at it, she thought i was buying it for my mother...and laughed when i told her it was from me.

The past couple of days have been a bit hard on us as a team. In some ways it has been really keeping us from performing to the level that we could and we should be at. As hard as it is, I really feel like it is what God wants right now. I am the type of person who not only like really challenging situations, but thrives in them. I almost feel like God is holding me back right now, because He's like....you already know that, and I am going to put you in place to use that...but I need you to learn this first.I am just learning a lot about myself and a lot about how to work with very different types of people. Last night, Carrie and I went for a walk in the rain...and she really helped me to work out how I am feeling and why. We've come to some really good conclusions and it might me feel a lot better, and so much more excited about what is to come.

4 American girls, 1 polish girl, 2 Indians, and a Swed

Sounds like a really bad joke, huh? But really that is who I just ate dinner with. Somehow we found the one Indian restaurant in all of Odessa, and it was good. The one thing I love about traveling is getting to know people from all over the world. It is so cool to talk and hang out with people who are born and have grown up in completely different cultures. You really realize that so many things are different...Yet we all can still laugh together at the way British people talk. Haha, no offence to England. Actually, I was watching bend it like Beckham the other night and almost cried at the sight of an English house and jokes about beans on toast.

I have decided that some day I am going to create a missionaries cook book (if one doesn't exist already). A cookbook that shows you how to eat well and inexpensively I all different countries. That would also tell you what brands are good, what stores have a good selection. I am already practicing while making American Versions of Ukrainian dishes as well as Ukrainian Versions of American dishes. It could be a really helpful tool to those living on a budget in the many corners of the world. If anything, its a good excuse to travel the world and eat a lot. I would need to do research.

So get this, I was almost in a Russian TV show. We were out handing out coffee, tea, and candies in the central area of the city and a camera crew started to set up. I guess we sort of became there catering service, making tea and coffee for the crew! It turns out they were filming a hidden camera show. One of the women who worked for the TV studio came and told us about it. Apparently, one of the guys was a semi-famous Russian Actor who would be caught doing something embarrassing by different people as they walked by. The TV show says its a hidden camera show, but really the director told each person how to react and then they pretending to discover the camera laugh and be embarrassed. Anyway, the women asked if any of us wanted to try. And me, being the actress that I am, thought hey, that might be fun. So, the women took me over and told me to watch someone else and then let her know if I wanted to do it. Well after I saw what the gag was, I completely changed my mind. Let's just say, it was a bit inappropriate, which is a shame because I would've been payed...And then I could've totally been a paid actor! I guess I missed my chance at fame.

Despite the heat and a number of power outages, I am still having a great time. I have been feeling a little unsettled though. It's like my heart is being pulled in so many directions. I have been thinking of home and missing it and I am quite excited about going back. But then I realize that that means I have to leave in England, which makes me sad. To top it all off, then I look into the eyes of the orphans and into the really poor and outcast communities and thinking that that is where God wants me to serve. How is it that a person can feel called to so many places at one time. I used to struggle enough trying to balance school, with theatre, DECA, work, family, friends and everything else that I did...But at least that was all in one town! Why is it that God has given me desires that stretch across multiple continents?