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