Almost there, but why am I going?

I can't believe that I am finally embarking on my much anticipated adventure! I leave on a jet plane tomorrow night at 6:50 pm. I suddenly don't feel ready. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I am excited about traveling somewhere new, about meeting new people, about going on this trip with my best friend, about visiting Africa again, about holding babies everyday for a month, about growing as a person, about growing closer to Jesus, about having the opportunity to witness miracles, about challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone, about learning new things, about sacrificing the things I love (comfort, time with family and friends, the things of home), and about doing what God has told me to do.

I am nervous about getting sick, about forgettng something important, about being away from my family, friends, and boyfriend for a month, about things changing at home while I am away (what will I come back to?), about feeling miserable without my comforts of home (running water, chiropractor, chocolate), about what I might have to eat, and about not having enough money to get by when I return.

When it comes down to it, though, knowing all of this and knowing that there is much more I can't possibly anticipate, I still choose to go to this exotic and possibly dangerous place. Some people have asked my why I'm going. They don't seem to understand why I would choose this life for a month when I could go to somewhere like Italy or Spain or England. I choose this because I desire to be challenged and I desire to grow as a person and a follower of Christ.

I know I am not of this world when I say that I am eager to give up everything I know and love to do something challenging and scary, possibly something that will make me very miserable in the process. Who knows what I will encounter? And yet, I do it because God has told me to pick up His cross and follow Him. Being comfortable is easy and I love it but the more comfortable I get, the more lazy I get and the more I miss out on in my limited time on this earth. I have felt called to Africa for some time now and when I chose to answer God's call, He made everything happen that I needed in order to get there. That is an answer to prayer and I can't deny that He wants me there. I feel blessed that he speaks to me this way and that he rewards me in huge ways when I listen.

I am eager to become a stronger, more compassionate person through this experience. Every time I do something like this, I learn so much about myself and I grow as a person. I don't know if you want to call them goals, but I do have a few personal things that I am eager to see happen while I am in Uganda:
1. I want to become closer to Raquel, my spiritual sister and one of my closest friends.
2. I want to grow closer to Jesus.
3. I want to be used to help the children and people we will meet.
4. I want my relationships back home to be bettered by who I am when I return and by the time we all have away from each other (this is always the true test of friendship).
5. I can't wait to see miracles first hand and God's amazing work in action! I want the stories I see to be a witness and encouragement to those at home, reading my blog every weeek.

The coolest thing about this list is that it mirrors Raquel's exactly. Yet another sign of how amazing God is and what He did to bring us together for our shared adventure. I can only become richer through what I will experience this next month. This is why I go.

UGANDA!

As most of you know, my best friend, Raquel, and I have been talking about our desire to go to Africa for a long time now. We started planning a trip to Uganda about 8 months ago and were all set to go with a secular global volunteer organization. Well, about 3 months ago, we both felt God telling us to change our plans. WHAT? But we like having an exact schedule of what we'll be doing and where we'll be! Well, God had a different "plan". We listened.

We told the organization we weren't going. We requested our refund. We waited. A month went by and we still didn't know what we were doing. We waited. We prayed every week for guidance. Where could we find a place that could use us in Uganda? We kept meeting people who knew people there. So, we emailed them. We were making connections but nothing was resonating with us yet. God was telling us to wait. We searched diligently online for organizations who were there or organizations who were going. We still had no idea what we were going to be doing. All we knew was that God was saying "Go." Money kept rolling in. We kept praying. We kept waiting.

We held a last minute garage sale and God gave us $800! We said,"Okay, God. You are still telling us to go.". We were going on faith now. We requested the dates off of work. Still no flights purchased, still no organization to go with, still no place to live once we got there. We waited. Another few weeks passed. Then one day, with 6 weeks to go until our departure date, Raquel emailed me, saying that a Christian organization (African Hearts) had contacted her regarding volunteering on the exact dates we had already planned to go. How did they find us? GOD. It turns out that they are doing exactly what we have been longing to do more than anything else- spending time with kids on the streets and in orphanages. It was God's answer to our prayers, so clearly!

All of a sudden, things were falling into place. We booked our flights, got our vaccinations, and started packing! This organization fits us better than anything we had imagined. We will be spending all our time with kids. No schedule of subjects to teach, no skill set needed (just our style :). We can just BE. We can be with kids, loving them, learning from them, investing in them.

We will be spending three days a week in the city's slums, giving medicine to the kids who live there and spending time with them. In the afternoons, we will spend time with the boys from the orphan homes that African Hearts takes care of. We will teach them Bible classes, music, games, and art. During the evenings, we will live at a Babies' orphan home (also sponsored by African Hearts). On Sundays, we get to take our boys to church. On our free days, we have the flexibility to go wherever we were needed or simply spend time with the various people we are sure to meet.

On some Thursdays, it turns out we may be "preaching" or giving our testimonies to the kids at another orphan home that we had contacted earlier. Even though we will not be working with them as we had anticipated, they still want us to come. We're also going to go visit a little girl who Raquel sponsors through World Vision. Uganda is exactly where we are meant to be. God told us so. Isn't it amazing to be so completely in His hands? I couldn't be more in awe.

Loaves and Fishes

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see God's miracles firsthand. I am constantly in awe of Him and the things He chooses to do to show his love and grace, which none of us truly deserves.

Five years ago, my church started a little thing they called "Beautiful Day". It was an opportunity for us in the church to show love to our neighbors one day a year and serve them in various ways. As my church says, "[What] if we stopped being a church of “come and see” but instead we were told ‘go and be’ like Christ in our city?". So, it all began with serving food to locals who didn't have the resources for a Thanksgiving dinner. Now, a few years later, we are doing 22 projects, for a whole week, as well as projects throughout the entire year. It has spread across the nation and the world and other churches are doing the same thing, all in the name of Christ, who has called us to serve others. It is so exciting!

This year, I had the opportunity to lead up one of these projects, in order to serve the 110 local EMTs who serve our city. It started yesterday with a delivery of breakfast items to the administrative staff there. Then, in the afternoon myself, as well as 3 others, prepared a BBQ for the 6 mechanics who work on the rigs everyday. It turned out that 3 of the mechanics were sick that day, so I was feeling a little bummed. No sooner did we find that out and the EMTs started coming over to the table, having smelled the burgers cooking. They started coming and didn't seem to stop. I started getting worried. After all, we had only brought enough food for 6 people! The EMTs kept coming and asking why we were there and where we were from. We said that we wanted to thank them for their service. One young EMT, in his mid-twenties, came outside and stood in front of the table, staring at the food. He smiled and said, "I'm just in awe right now. I am amazed that you guys would do all of this!". So, 40 minutes later, we still had food left. How did we feed almost 20 people when we had only brought enough food for 6? It was all GOD. What an amazing day! It just goes to show that God will make it happen, regardless of what we feel capable of.

So, Thursday morning we get to deliver 110 coolers to the EMTs, each one filled with homemade cookies, cliff bars, caffeine, and gift cards. I can't wait to see their faces!

AFRICA

How could I have let my passion for Africa lie dormant for so long? It's been five years today since I returned from Zimbabwe from 2 months of adventure. I have always had a special place in my heart for Africa and this has not been forgotten but the specific people I spent so much time bonding with in 2003 somehow escaped my memory or perhaps I unknowingly pushed them away, knowing that the thoughts of them would hurt too much. The dam finally broke last night and I was amazed at how much I had forgotten.

I went to see a movie with my friend, Joe, last night, called The Long Way Down. It's about Ewan MacGregor and his best friend, Charley Boorman, who both drive their motorcycles from Scotland to Cape Town, Africa (15, 000 miles in two months). Observing them traipse through Africa's countries and hearing the heart-wrenching stories of the people they meet (often the victims of genocide) made me long to be there myself. I wanted to hug those kids and talk with them for hours. I was aching to return to Africa, and I was yearning to revisit my photos when I went home that night.

As soon as I rushed through the door to my apartment, I grabbed my Zimbabwe album from the shelf and laid down on the couch. I couldn't believe it had been a year, possibly more, since I had even opened it. I found that the photos of my Westgate girls (the girls I lived with at the newly opened home for orphans) were familiar once again. I could recall each personality vividly. Other photos I pored over seemed new to me, as if some person in another life had taken them.

It was bittersweet to see the pictures of people I'd met that summer. Seeing the girls wasn't so hard because I get updates about them often, from Glen Miller (leader of Hands of Hope, the organization I traveled with), who still visits them once a year. But, as I turned the pages in my album to my favorite place in Zimbabwe, my heart leapt in my throat. Photos taken during my two weeks spent at "Just Children Foundation", with its hundreds of ragged, smiling children, greeted my eyes. This place that provided shelter for hundreds of children, in order to keep them off of the streets, had been a haven for me. I looked forward to each morning as if it was Christmas. I spent hours there, sitting with those kids, talking, drawing, playing, singing, teaching. We developed friendships that ached our hearts to sever. And yet, how could I have forgotten about these kids after five years?

I feel guilty that they haven't been in my prayers everyday, that I'll never know what happened to them, that I didn't do enough for them in the little time we had together. All I did was sit and talk to them and then I left after a few weeks to go back home to this rich garden of opportunity and wealth we call America. Reading the letters some of those children had written to me made the ache hurt even more. They said that they would miss me so much and love me always and that I was their only true friend. I miss them so much, I can't stand it!

God, why do I have this desire to go if I can't? Is it You or me who is preventing this passage? I want to be there like I need to breathe and yet I feel trapped and caged here in my present circumstances. Don't get me wrong- I feel that everyday is incredibly valuable here in San Jose. I feel that I have purpose in everything that I've been given and I'm grateful. I love my job, I love the friends I've made, I love my Bible Study girls and I feel blessed to be ministering to them each week. It's not that I don't love it here, it's that my heart is torn between 2 loves and one is continents away and it feels unattainable.

I vow this day to remember you Prince, Tinotenda, Stephen, Trymore. I will pray for you constantly and will make your stories known. I think it's finally time to write my book...

"Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead. Now that I have held you, in my own arms, I cannot let go til you are... I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been. I will keep my word..."- lyrics from Albertine, by Brooke Fraser

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I love when God blesses me through outwardly bad circumstances. Today is a perfect example of this. My car died on Friday night, which is not actually that unusual for me these days, and I had to completely change my Sunday plans. I missed out on a friend's bridal shower and missed out on church but I ended up having the greatest day anyway.
Mallory was at U.C. Davis all day, at a conference for work so I had the whole house to myself, which is pretty rare. I woke up at 8:30, not because I had to but because I wanted to. Then I took a chair out to our balcony and sat there and read almost all of Acts. I spent probably 10 minutes just sitting there, looking at the trees, feeling the breeze, listening to the birds chirping. I feel like I am incredibly blessed to live here. It feels like waking up at camp everyday. It looks like camp, with all of the trees within the complex, and the smell of dirt and grass and leaves just envelops you when I walk outside. It's a beautiful thing and I got to fully enjoy it this morning, for as long as I wanted.
After that, I made myself waffles with strawberries and walnuts and watched an old black and white movie (The Body Snatcher, with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff).
After that, I got my car towed and got to spend that whole time waiting outside, enjoying pure freedom in time.
After I took care of that, I organized my bathroom, cleaned the house, baked a cake, unpacked from my housesit, paid my bills and balanced my checkbook, and updated my blog.
What an awesome day! It's only 7:15 now and I still have a few hours to do whatever I want. Isn't life gorgeous?

KEVIN FRANDSEN!

So, I've "met" my favorite Giants player, Kevin Frandsen, three times now but the third was absolutely a charm. The first time I met him, my heart practically jumped in my throat and I could hardly spit out "will you sign my ball?". I was getting my dad's baseball autographed for him. The entire time, Kevin was gabbing it up with someone else!
The second time I met him was at Photo Day, when he was hobbling around, looking like his Achilles was really hurting him (he's been out the whole season because of an Achilles rupture).
The third time is a beautiful memory. Mal and I got there early (as usual) and watched the ladies play softball (all the Giants wives/significant others played against those of the A's). After awhile, Mal and I decided to go sit down and we noticed Kevin walking out the practice throwing in the bullpen. No one was even around! This was my chance. I walked over to him and asked if he would sign my hat. Of course, he said sure. No one else was even around so I knew I had to say something.

Here is our conversation:
Me: Kevin, will you sign my hat?
Kevin: Sure.
Me: How are you feeling these days? Getting better?
Kevin: Yeah, I'm doing better.
Me: Do you think you'll be back this season?
Kevin: Yeah, I really hope so.

Thrilling conversation, right? I loved every sweet second of it. My goal all season was to talk to him, for even a moment, and that's exactly what I got, plus a really cool autograph on my Giants hat. The only autograph that matters, in my opinion. ;)

I'm disappointed that it looks like he'll be out all season but at least he's still around. hey, if he's just chilling out, I probably have better chances of meeting him and talking to him again, right?

BEST DAY EVER!

Raquel's Birthday

Raquel and I have been best friends for 13 years but we've never been together on her birthday. That has mainly been due to the fact that she moved to Illinois during the beginning of our friendship.

Well, I was extremely blessed when she moved out here in February for a year. I knew that this was the year when we would finally spend her birthday together. So, my scheming began. I originally intended to kidnap her and make the entire thing a surprise but I just couldn't keep the secret so I told her to plan on spending the day with me but I wouldn't tell her where we were going. So, I loaded up my Ipod, cleaned out my car, and sent her this little email:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Campers!

We are so happy you're going to be joining us on Sunday, May 18. Below is a list of items you will need. See you there!

Don't Forget:
Jacket or warm coat
Comfortable (but cute!) clothes
Stuffed monkey
Camera
Sunglasses
Bottled Water
SENSIBLE SHOES
Umbrella
Bathing suit
Cardboard box
A block of your favorite cheese
Walking stick
Compass
Instructions on how to fashion a tent out of garbage bags and duct tape
Garbage bags
Duct tape
Bible
Journal/Pen
Anti-caking agent
Parental consent form (see below)

Please do NOT bring:
Electronic devices
Weapons of any kind
Live animals (taxidermied animals are acceptable)
Boy band paraphernalia
(If any of these items are found in your baggage, they will be confiscated immediately.)


_____________________Tear Here_____________________________
PARENTAL CONSENT FORM

I, _________________________________, hereby give my permission for Raquel Angelique Lomelin to join Chelsea Lyn Dilbeck on a day of random escapades (full of excitement and wonder). I do not hold Chelsea responsible for any alteration (physical/mental/emotional) to said victim- I mean Birthday Girl. If any alteration exists after Raquel's return to civilization, I vow not to sue Chelsea for damages.

Sign Below:
_________________________________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a team effort, the list compiled by my mom, Mallory, and myself. We had a blast putting it together and I knew she would be completely thrown off as to where we were going.
Sunday finally came and she arrived at my house in the morning. I had borrowed my mom's GPS so I inputted each of the four locations we would be travelling to that day.

I gave her four postcards, each one to be opened right before reaching the corresponding destination. Oh, the suspense I put her through all day! I only hoped that our activities would live up to the anticipation.

Each stop during the day was chosen for a specific reason. Our first stop was the marina in San Francisco, because Raquel had often mentioned that she missed the ocean most of all, since moving out to Illinois. Once we got there, we walked against the extremely strong wind and found the little spot, at the edge of the water, that I had been looking for. It was called the Wave Organ, and it was a dock made completely from the gravestones of a cemetery that was torn down awhile ago. It was actually really pretty. The reason for the name "Wave Organ" is the multiple pipes that come out from the cement and go down into the water below. If you put your ear up to the pipes, you can hear the ocean rushing beneath the stone.

We ate a picnic lunch there, even though it was really windy and really cold. It was still nice, though.
The next stop was MOAD: The Museum of the African Diaspora. It took us forever to get there because was couldn't find cheap parking. After driving around for twenty minutes, we finally settled on parking five blocks away, on a street marked "free parking". We prayed over my car (that it would still be there when we returned) and we went on our way.

The museum was incredible. It was small but beautifully done. There were a few rooms showing how Africans have brought their culture to America and how they have created history here in this country. We watched a few short films, one about how Africans celebrate and another about Nelson Mandela. Raquel and I were even more inspired than we already had been to go to Africa. My heart is for Zimbabwe and Raquel's for Malawi. We talked about Africa the rest of the day. That tends to be the topic of our conversations together anyway, but that museum really brought it to the forefront of our minds and hearts. I loved being absorbed in the culture for a few hours while there. I am craving Africa...

After our visit in the museum, we made the walk back to our car. On our way there, a homeless guy pushing a shopping cart hollered at me, "I'm rich, I'm just faking it. You're beautiful. Don't tell anybody!". Ah, the joys of being in San Francisco...

We got to the next block and another homeless guy looked at us and asked, "You're not going down there, are you?" We answered that we had to go that way and kept walking. He told us, "I wouldn't go that way." Sure enough, we ran into the hippie convention. We had seen a few on our walk to the museum earlier but they had tripled in number since. We had to shove our way through the lovefest and the weed (oh, and all of the guys standing on the corner with one index finger in the air). One lady walking through dryly commented, "Cute...smells like hippies." There was nothing creepy about it, just awkward and very, um, crowded.

One block away from our car, we were walking faster, eager to be in our car and driving away, when we passed a (wo)man who looked at me and said, "Hey, beautiful." I really think it was a woman but Raquel wasn't sure. Anyway, it was the capper for an eventful walk through San Fran.

Safe in our car, we happily drove to to our third destination, Golden Gate Park. The week before this eventful day, I found out, in a roundabout way, that Raquel had a secret love of buffalo. Well, on a whim, I went online and typed in "San Francisco + Buffalo". Funny thing was, something actually turned up! Apparently, there are buffalo in Golden Gate Park.

When we arrived in Golden Gate Park, we saw tons of people in the craziest costumes. It took awhile to figure out what was going on but we finally learned that it was Bay To Breakers that day. Honestly, it was the most entertaining day I have ever spent in San Fran.

Once we parked and started walking, I realized, with a twinge of worry, that this park was BIG! I didn't have a clue as to where the buffalo actually were and the GPS wasn't going to tell me. I just went in the general direction that I had recalled form the map I had found online the day before and hoped for the best. While walking, Raquel was seriously wondering what I could possibly be taking he to. He postcard had said, "I always knew you were a country girl at heart but only recently learned how true this is." She was convinced that I was dragging her to some Billy Ray Cyrus statue or something.

At the point where I was about ready to give up and admit that I was lost, I saw them, tiny brown specks in the distance.

She was the happiest Raquel I had ever seen! She hugged me so many times and kept taking pictures of the big nappy animals. It was pretty cool, though, considering I've never seen one in real life. We stayed there for a good while, watching them, well, pretty much stand there. She loved it, though.

Our last stop of the day was our chance to be kids again. This was my favorite part of the entire day. We went to a little (and I mean little!) park at the edge of town, tucked in a tiny residential neighborhood. There were 2 cement slides there. This was where the cardboard boxes came into play. Until this moment, Raquel really didn't know that I was serious about bringing them. One look at the slides and the boxes in my hands, and she looked a little freaked. I don't think either of us was so sure that we would be able to go through with it. Well, we'd come this far.

By the time we walked up to the top of the slides, it appeared a whole lot higher than it had from below. Sitting on our cardboard, at the top, was not a little bit scary. We just willed ourselves to go and (after counting a couple times) went for it. I swear I got, like, 3 feet of air that time (Napoleon Dynamite fans, you dig?). I actually did come a little off of my seat at the bump in the middle. That was the scariest. I got the biggest adrenaline rush I've had in a long time. Once we started to go down, we couldn't stop because there was no friction. Scary but totally cool!







What a rad way to end Raquel's birthday. We had so much fun and she really seemed to enjoy every place we went. I had a blast planning the whole thing and spending the day together so I call it a success!