Hey Ya’ll,

            Long time no see.  I miss you guys.  It is kinda hard to figure out how to sum up the last few months of my life because for the most part they have been so routine that they don’t seem very interesting to me.  Anywho, I will describe them anyways, since my routine life is less familiar to you.

            Right now I am working somewhere between eighty and ninety hours any given week, which is not half so bad as it sounds because fifty plus hours of those are an overnight shift that I am free to do what I want (including sleep) after around nine as long as I am in earshot of the monitor.  I am working (quite sloooowly) on my masters in counseling.  Once I finish this semester I believe I will be one quarter of the way through the program, so if I continue at my current pace, I will be done in about three years.  Looking forward to getting that degree, but I am really hoping it will not really take that long (without much optimism).  I have also been mentoring some girls from my church, which I really enjoy.    

            Now, on to the less routine.  In mid February, my sister had a beautiful baby boy named Amos Augustine.  He is a chunk, weighing in around ten pounds at birth, and from the pictures quite adorable (haven’t made it out there to meet him yet). 

            Also in February I did something quite lunatic.  I went down to phoenix and talked with students on Arizona State University campus about abortion.  See, several months before, Tim Brahm told me about the organization he is working for, Justice For All.  They travel throughout the country training ordinary people to dialogue about abortion in a sane and intelligent fashion.  They also go to public forums like college campuses and create dialogue using an exhibit that asks the questions what is the unborn, can/should we kill it, and is abortion humane.  

            In February, they held an outreach on the ASU campus, and I went through their training and then hung out on campus talking to people.  It was pretty intense, but I really enjoyed it.  I got to learn a lot about how to have intelligent dialogue with people about important ideas (who aren’t Torrey students), and I got a chance to hear a lot of different viewpoints and worldviews.  Some of those worldviews were a bit on the terrifying side given the amount of relativism and Darwinism that is rampant on a secular college campus.

            In mid April Justice For All came back to Arizona with an outreach at the Tucson county fair, and I got to join them there.  This time instead of just showing up for a seminar and a few hours of outreach, I got to be there for the whole weekend, which was even cooler.  I am currently exploring the option of doing an internship with JFA, so it was really nice to get a glimpse into what it is like to be a staff member, and to be able to spend time with the staff (who are awesome people) and pick their brains.

            Anywho, now it back to my normal life, and I have probably been procrastinating long enough.  I look forward to hearing more about how ya’ll are doing.

~Sarah

P.S. Shaya, you might want to check out Justice For All given your involvement with your local CPC and given the area you are working.

Justice For All Outreach Reflection

            One of the last things I ever thought I would be doing was standing in front of a large display with pictures of aborted babies in the middle of a busy college campus talking to strangers about abortion.  Yet somehow, that is where I found myself. 

            While I was initially excited to participate in the Justice For All seminar and outreach, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I was definitely nervous, but I think that my friends were more freaked out by the idea of participating in a Justice For All outreach than I was.  Most of the factual information presented in the seminar was not new to me because I have tried to stay educated about prolife movement.  I had seen similarly graphic pictures of abortion before, so the display was not as shocking as it could have been.  Still, seeing so many pictures of abortions at so many different points during the pregnancy made me tear up.  It was a good reminder of why I really do care about this topic.

            I have previously had opportunities to talk to people about abortion, but without a clear picture of where to take the dialogue and without a clear understanding of how much is common knowledge, those conversations were not as productive as they could have been.  While I have been able to share information, I lacked the tools to change the way that people viewed abortion.  That is one of the reasons I am so excited about what Justice For All is doing.  The seminar is really helpful because it gives people the tools to dialogue graciously about abortion in a way that addresses some of the underlying principles of a pro-choice worldview.  One of the things I found particularly helpful was the fact that the pro-life arguments were presented in an accessible way that, when combined with role-play, was easy to memorize.  I have a hard time thinking on my feet, particularly if I am in a stressful environment like talking to a random stranger about such an emotionally charged subject as abortion.  It is much less intimidating to talk to strangers about abortion when you have memorized these arguments and practiced using them in role-play. 

            Most of all, though, I think what I am excited about is the fact that unlike a lot of elements of the pro-life movement, Justice For All is addressing the disconnect that allows us to dehumanize the unborn and then murder them.  Justice For All is asking the fundamental questions that underlie the philosophy of abortion, and making the case for the humanity and value of the pre-born in such a way that in order to disagree you have to deny the basic morals that most of us live by.

            At the outreach, the one of the first conversations I had was with a young man whose girlfriend had had an abortion.  He said that even though it was a horrific experience, they would do it again.  He thought that we were more concerned with looking like good people than loving people.  That really drove home the fact that in order to make a difference we have to be more than just pro-baby.  We have to love all of the people around us, regardless of whether they are pre- or post-birth, because they are all made in the image of God, and Christ died to redeem all of them. 

            One of my favorite conversations during the outreach was with a young man who had somehow gone without really thinking about abortion.  He was truly horrified by what he saw, and he wanted more information.  I ended up giving him all the facts that I knew about abortion methods and risks, and then we talked about what sorts of cultural change are necessary to make abortion less attractive.  That one was really fun because he was actually eager to learn and to think new thoughts, and was engaged both intellectually and emotionally.

            What I learned from the seminar and outreach experience has been very helpful, not only as I seek to dialogue with people about abortion, but also as I interact with people on other topics in my day-to-day life.  When I got off work the morning of the outreach, I got into a conversation with my coworker about what I was going to do that day.  Because I had been studying some of the materials from the seminar the night before, I had a copy of the exhibit with me, and I was able to share it with her.  She talked about some of her friends who either have had abortions or who would be likely to, and how hard it can be to talk to them.  I shared what I had learned with her, and gave her my copy of the exhibit so she could share it with her friends.  I was also able to tell her about the assistance that our local crisis pregnancy center offers for post abortive women.  A few weeks after the outreach, a couple in my church told me that their granddaughter was probably not going to be able to get her kids back from foster care as they had hoped.  My immediate reaction was to ask how their granddaughter was dealing with the news, and then to ask how they were doing with the news and how this was going to affect their access to their great-grandchildren.  That was, in part, a direct result of the training from the seminar to express concern by asking how the person being discussed is doing, and how the person you are talking to is doing as well.

            I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in what Justice For All is doing, and I am looking forward to getting further involved.  I would highly recommend the seminar and outreach to anyone looking to make a difference in the culture, both in the pro-life field, and in the culture in general. 

 ~Sarah

From Raaaaaachester! (see video for pronunciation) :)

Hey Everyone! This is Shaya!


Thanks, Rachael, for keeping this thing up and reminding us about it (it had completely left my radar after last year when everyone posted).

Hmm...so life since my last post. Some things are very much the same--I still work in OB/GYN research, and actually a couple of months ago had my 6 month review followed by a raise (I guess they like me). Mostly I enjoy my work, though there are some darker aspects of it, such as the kinds of patients I regularly encounter with unimaginably horrible and painful backgrounds, or the fact that I know at least 3 people who perform abortions without batting an eyelash. On the other hand, I've been learning deeper compassion from the former and have been seeking ways to work against and pray for the latter. One way I've found to practice both of those skills is to volunteer at a local Christian crisis pregnancy clinic (called CompassCare), which is a clinical setting with nurses who perform free testing and ultrasounds for women who are at risk for abortion. They also fully inform them about all their options so they know what the risks/benefits are of every avenue, and then the nurses share the Gospel with each woman. They try to gently guide them, through truth and their interaction with the ultrasound images and videos, away from abortion and towards carrying to term and either keeping the baby or doing adoption, with the goal of "transforming her fear into confidence" while also, of course, potentially saving the baby's life. My job is to keep up relations with local churches who support this non-profit organization both monetarily and through tangible personal support and mentorship of these women. Ironically, if CompassCare reached its full potential in reaching the women of Rochester, those three abortion doctors I mentioned would have nothing to do. May it be so, Lord!

As for my involvement in my Messianic synagogue, I've been cantoring there now for several months and love being able to serve the congregation in music, while also getting the chance to learn some incredible liturgy (mostly Scripture, but in Hebrew!). I co-cantored our Passover seder this year, which featured a lot of fun liturgy, including one detailing the 10 plagues. Yes, I now know how to say lice, flies, blood, cattle, etc in Hebrew. :) I'm also still very invovled in the dance ministry there, and this summer I'll be teaching a 5 week dance course at a local parks and rec and getting paid for it! Also the dance ministry is sending me to this incredible conference in July where I'll learn more dances on top of getting some great theological teaching.

And then the latest exciting thing in my life actually came together yesterday, when after being connected through a coworker with a local opera company director, I attended one of their concerts in an effort to connect with the company. Connect I did, because I somehow ended up in the room where all the performers were eating their dinner pre-performance and got to meet most of them and also talk to the director I mentioned. I loved the group of people and it felt so natural to chat with all of them, that it felt like all I was missing was a gown and some music to join their performance. The director wants me to come audition in the late summer for their fall productions! This is a very small company, but with all the changes in my life, I feel more compelled to stay here and work and live "normally" while singing on the side in gigs such as this, at least for now. I really don't want to do the opera curcuit around the country and "sell my soul," so to speak, to large companies, which would not allow for the personal life, friendships, new opportunities, and ministries I've lately enjoyed. Also while I was at this concert, I ran into a man I know through my roommate who is her church's music director and very involved in the classical music scene. He's heard me sing and knows me fairly well, and he had another man with him who turned out to be a well-respected local voice teacher and a strong believer. I even heard one of this man's students sing in this concert, and for the short time she's been studying voice, she was incredible. So the man who knows me told the voice teacher about me and they set up a trial voice lesson for me with this teacher next week! I haven't been able to study with anyone for a long time, partly due to money and partly to lack of good transportation, but it turns out neither of these will likely be issues if I study with this man! It looks like God is opening some doors once again for me to sing, and I'm thrilled!!!

Rachael, your comment about health and nutrition intrgues me, because I've actually been doing the same over the past 6 or more months. Through the knowledge I've gained from the environmental and diet-based studies we do at work and also through my own research, I've been slowly transitioning to a mostly organic whole foods diet with very little meat and almost no processed foods or sugars (except the naturally ocurring kinds, like in fruit). I've also been [successfully] playing with personal care and cleaning products and also storage methods (as in, glass instead of plastic, etc), because it turns out that when a curious person like myself learns a few new things, she also uncovers other new things, and it kinda snowballs. Anyway, in the very least it's making me feel better and saving me money. The diet part was also in large part spurrred by ongoing health problems that have made me suspect food or additive allergies/sensitivities, although I still as yet have not come up with any solid diagnoses. All that is to say, Rachael, you're not alone!

Ok, this post has been long enough. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing how y'all are doing.

Fun side note--Rochester, if you don't know, has a grating nasally accent that my friends and I have a great time imitating. Here's a video someone local made up that will give you a perfect (and painful) example.
Note especially the pronunciation of "fantastic." :S
Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/B7JtZOQ-_No

Tata for now!
~*Shaya

RRotW - It Never Rains But It Pours

Not going to lie, I am totally happy right now, but my life totally sucks. Well, kinda sucks... but there are some good parts too.

We widened our gate recently. That was a chore. Our original estimate was that it would take a week. It took five. Long story short, there were a lot of messed up sprinkler pipes that were very brittle and needed fixing. Multiple times.

And in the midst of the gate project, we found we have a water leak. In the house. Actually... under the house. *sigh*

So now we have some access points (translate: holes) in our walls to get to the pipes.

And to make life even happier, after all this work today, I went to the store and the bag boy just HAD to mention that my fingernails were dirty. Thanks.

Oh, and I forgot to mention my poor dog had to have a root canal and a tooth pulled. And the next week my dad had knee surgery. On my birthday. Also, I had to pay the IRS money this year.

And I had a blow out on one of my car tires.

But my garden is doing well.

And my dog is happy.

And my father's knee is already improving.

And I'm eating healthier. In fact I think I'm turning into something of a health nut/green freak (it's a long story).

How has it been with you guys?