My Time and "Other Things"

Games Games Games…
So I have now played in three games. Each game I feel pretty good through about the first quarter and a half and then progressively my foot starts getting more and more sore and I start gimping down the floor. I have watched my game tape and I can tell that I am limping, but at least on video I don’t look as bad as I feel- like I’m running down the floor with a peg leg…I have felt less lost in each game as far as where to be on the court, but I still have a long way to go and I am longing for the day when I can play without having to think about where I’m supposed to be on offense, when to shoot, what we’re doing on defense, and ultimately how my foot is feeling- how much pain is okay?

The good thing is I have still had fun and am really enjoying my teammates. They are working hard and we are taking on the identity of the scrappy team of the league that’s going to out work everyone else. Now that’s a team I want to be on! After our last game I came out of the locker room to lay down with my feet up against the wall while I waited for a free shower. The opponents’ coaches were out there talking about the game and I could hear one of the coaches exclaiming in exasperation “we just got out-hustled! They out hustled us all night” I chuckled to myself and thoroughly enjoyed that.

We play again tomorrow night, I should be okay to play (doc says it's okay after the shot Wed as long as my soreness hasn't increased) and I’m looking forward to another evening of scraptasticness (in the words of Phil Dumphey, "TM!").

Oh and I may have received one of the greatest complements of my basketball career:
Ben told me that one of his teammates came up to him and said “your girlfriend* plays like a thug!”

Not sure exactly how he meant that, but I’ll take it. I also suddenly feel inspired to run down to the nearest tattoo parlor and start working on my image…Although it's going to be rough with the weird uniforms we wear here...I just look awkward...more awkward than is normal for me in a bball uni...

*yes I am getting to that

My Time and “Other Things”…

So the facebook pictures are out, how I’ve been spending my time has been revealed ;)…So one of my first blogs I had written about people I met here…Uh recall Ben the farmer who took me to my OT appointments??? Well surprise surprise (okay, apparently I was the only one surprised) things pretty much clicked for us from the start and we started dating and are enjoying one another’s company…Yes, it’s ironic to come all the way to Australia to meet a man from Iowa, but God works in mysterious ways! Of course we have yet to see what will come of this but in the meantime I am blessed to spend time with a man who loves Jesus passionately, who really cares about people and is constantly looking for ways to invest in others- especially the younger guys on his team and who he coaches, and who affirms me repeatedly…he is a constant reminder to me of the purpose of my own life- to love Christ and others- to be purposeful with them, and to just be an encouragement to those around me. Of course there are plenty of laughs and goofiness abounds! Ben asks me sometimes after we’ve just had a ridiculous conversation where we’re being goofy and going on about nothing really, “are we dumb?!” A question I always scoff at and exclaim “NO!” I think it takes real brilliance to keep up a conversation about nothing…




The pics on facebook (Ben's, I haven't put mine up yet) are from this past weekend when Ben’s host parents took us and Ben’s mom who is here to visit down to a town called Margaret River (of course I thought we were going to an actual river and had no clue what was coming...at team dinner the other night I announced that I would be going to "The Margaret River" and was immediately laughed at and made fun of)…The town is about 3 hours south of here and is comprised of vineyard after vineyard and wineries…lots of great little restaurants and cafes and galleriess...It is country area and beautiful. Jane (host mom) had rented a “homestead”- giant house on a vineyard. We had it all to ourselves!



Upon pulling up the first day 3 or 4 kangaroos went bounding across the front lawn- a sight we got used to seeing every time we pulled into the house over the next couple of days. There were about 6 I think that seemed to live right around there- 1 a joey (baby kanga!) and they would come out in the evening and eat. We could go out and watch them, they didn’t let us get too close, but I loved just seeing them. I love when they’d stand there and watch us watching them, and I love when they bound away, seeing their graceful and strong movements.


Can you see them running away?






Also over the weekend we went to one of the bays along the coast where giant stingrays come right up near the shoreline and you can literally touch them. I wish that I had touched them, but I was nervous with my foot and going too much into the water. Ben and Glen (host dad) got in and touched them though! It was so beautiful to see!






Also, on the way down to Margaret River we stopped in another town (Mandurah) where Jane has family. We had brunch with them at their home which is along one of the canals which connect to the ocean. Everyone living there has a boat and as Ben and I stood on the back balcony which overlooks the water, we saw a man drive his boat by followed by a dolphin!

The entire trip was just filled with so much beauty and of course wonderful people. Jane and Glen are some of the most generous and kind people I have ever met- the sort of people who really delight in giving others something to enjoy. They also helped teach me to play Settlers of Catan which showed me both their patience and their fun/competitive side. :)At one point somehow I was winning and Glen pretty much blacklisted anyone from trading with me…Joke was on him bc as he got everyone so focused on me, Ben came out of nowhere and won the game… Ha ha!

Over Easter weekend Ben and I went to help at an Easter camp for students ages 16-25 from the Baptist churches in this area.Kaija Leo, one of my teammates, was helping to lead the camp and asked us if we could come out for a few days. It was so fun!

This is us at dinner one of the nights...Must have been while others were up getting dessert bc usually Ben's table was completely crammed with guys wanting to be around him...

It was actually at camp that I saw a kangaroo for the first time, and I was so excited about it that I nearly cried. I think a couple of campers were making fun of me for being so excited about it, but something about seeing a creature you've never seen before, and seeing how creative God is, I don't know, it just moved me!




Okay these pictures aren't actually great of the kangaroos, but at least you can see my exuberence...

It was a joy to be with the campers, particularly during small group times. I was so eager to hear what was on the hearts of those girls and see if there was any encouragement I could offer for them at this period in their lives (I was with the under 17 girls)...I really felt like we enjoyed each other and I was sad to leave!

It was also a joy to see how Ben was pretty much automatically every guy's best bud. I think the combination of towering over everyone, being an athlete, and then being as goofy as heck (he played a game with them in which they pretended to be kangaroos and one person was the "hunter" and threw a boomarang at them and everyone had to hop away to avoid being hit...yeah...) were definitely contributing factors to his appeal :) It was so cool to then hear later on about the impact he was able to have in his small groups as well.

I just want to get it myself- really loving Christ and living WITH Him as well as for Him. I want to help spread that to others. I want those students to get it. I want the people at Lakeside to get it. I want my teammates to get it. It was such a good time to be at camp and be around people who do get it.

Another big highlight at camp was just to be around Kaija more. She is such a cool girl and I think I have a lot to learn from her, about relating to Christ, and just in life. One major thing she is teaching me is the best hot spots for our favorite foods. Ha ha ha, I know that sounded like I was about to say something serious...so I did. Food is serious people. :) But we have a shared affinity for food, especially burgers, kebabs, and CHOCOLATE. We have however, made a mutual agreement (also got another girl on the team in on this) to nix all chocolate candy till June and choc desserts only on the weekend. I know that doesn't sound like much of a challenge, but if you knew what we were consuming before...

I also met three other awesome women at camp and I was really moved and challenged by them. I felt God's Spirit among us one night as four of us just spent some time praying together. It was incredible.

Anyway, time here continues to speed past and I continue to love it here. We are heading into winter and I am a little sad to see the summer go, but I am excited for every phase of learning about this place and these wonderful wonderful people! (seriously, after getting back from Margaret River Mon afternoon, we were invited to dinner at another host family’s home, then last night we were invited to dinner at another church family’s home…and Andy Stewart's wife Glenys has invited me to go with her and the kids to a wildlife park where I will get to hold a koala...the people here are SO welcoming!)…

My Foot! My Foot!

My Foot My Foot!

Okay the only person who would really get that blog title is Grace. We had a teammate in college that would always say that in a funny voice, I don’t even remember now why…moving on….

Well it sure has been a roller coaster with this whole foot thing. Since I first injured it I have seen a doctor in Germany, a doctor in the states, a physical therapist in the States, 4 different Occupational Therapists here, another podiatrist here (doc in the states was a podiatrist), a massuese and now a sports doc here…I have had my foot x rayed in Germany, MRI’d in the States, and now had 2 more x rays and another MRI here…I have been told again and again that my injury was significant but that I will be good to play by _____ that date kept moving back and back, and yes, I am now playing on it, but man it has not been easy…

(Also that beaut of a pic up there is of the burn I got on my foot from the tape I was using to tape my arch. That was just like a little extra fun since the falling arch/bone bruises/locked up ankle wasn't enough...It's better now but it really didn't feel so good for about a week...)

So the first MRI that I had in the states did not show any damage to my ligaments which really baffled some of the docs, and myself as well. I knew there was no way that all the ligaments had been fine considering what I had done. The MRI just showed TONS of intense bone bruises…Every x ray came up clean, but I had just continuously been in pain.

The OT’s here mostly have dealt with my foot by trying to manipulate the joint and get it to loosen up. The podiatrist would pretty much work on every single little joint in my foot and try to get everything moving, he also gave me acupuncture, which I have never had before, to help loosen up the ligaments running inside my foot and up my calf which were pulling on my arch and causing it to fall. I do think that helped. Then I saw a masseuse who tried to rub out all the knots that had accumulated on the ligaments on the inside and outside of my leg…This was intensely painful. Pretty much all of it has been painful in varying degrees, but this one left its marks:




So after all of this going on and no real relief, it was suggested by multiple OT’s and the podiatrist that maybe I ought to just get a cortisone shot. I went into the sports doc the first time about 3 weeks ago, expecting to get a shot right then. He told me that he did not want to give me the shot without me first getting an MRI because he was concerned that some of my pain could be coming from cartilage damage and not just fluid (which is what the cortisone could help me with)…
So…I went and got another MRI. I was eager to see what it said- would the bone bruising look any better? Would any other ligament stuff show up? Would there be cartilage problems? I couldn’t get back to the doc until this Monday. He saw my MRI and said “I would love to give you a shot today but…” My heart fell. This time he said he was still worried about one more area that the MRI didn’t pick up. In looking at the current MRI it does look like the bone bruises are starting to heal, he also did not see any cartilage damage. However, he said that the first MRI had not picked up (how???) that I had torn ligaments on both sides of my ankle. He said they were all healing and will be fine so long as I don’t roll my ankle again (definitely taping – or “strapping” in Aussie terms- AND wearing my brace)…but with all the damage that was done he said it was a very severe injury and so it made him wonder if there wasn’t damage to the ligaments that hold the two leg bones together just atop the ankle joint… So now he was sending me for an xray to make sure that those ligaments were okay, and THEN he would give me the shot if they were alright…

Got my third X Ray Tues, got back into the doc yesterday and within a minute of sitting down he’d looked it over, declared me fine and said “alright! Let’s do the shot!” It’s weird when such a phrase gives you a sense of excitement…Then I got really nervous right after. I wasn’t sure how this was going to feel. The shots I got in my knees in college (not cortisone shots, but that’s still what was coming to mind) were with these really fat needles and it did not feel great…Multiple people I’d mentioned getting the cortisone shot to had made faces or comments suggesting this was going to be painful…I was so nervous that when the doc told me to get up on the table on my back I climbed up and laid down on my stomach. He was quick to tell me to lay on my “other back” and I laughed and told him I was so nervous…Ben was with me (more on that in a moment) for moral support and courage. The doc marked my foot where he wanted to do the shot, rubbed it and cleaned it off, then stuck the needle in- it was one of the easiest shots I’d ever had. I immediately went from big nerves to feeling REAL stupid. I laid on my stomach over that??!! Ha ha…

So now it’s a waiting game. Doc says it can take about 5 days for the shot to take effect. I have to try to keep my foot immobilized till our game Fri-tomorrow night. I keep telling myself in a few more days I should be able to work out again like a normal person and all this waiting, and now all this laying down, will be worth it! Here’s hoping!!! I can’t wait to get into better shape, to really work on my game, and just play up to my potential!!

A Little of What I've Been Up To...

Okay Okay I am lame. The Queen of Lame. I wrote this a week and a half ago...yeah. So, it's already kinda old news. But here ya go:



Time in Australia is flying by. I have already been here over a month yet it still really feels like I’m still just getting started. The main reason it feels that way is because my foot is just now finally getting healthy so I have not been in practices and I missed our pre-season tournament and the first two games…So what have I been doing you ask?

Good question :). I have been spending quite a bit of time in this place:




This is the Lakeside Recreation Centre (the Aussie spelling)…This is where I work out, our teams practice, have our games, and where Lakeside Baptist Church meets on Sunday mornings. We meet in Stadium One which they convert for the service, laying out carpet, putting out chairs in front of the stands, and bringing out a stage and backdrop creating a much more intimate and “church” like setting. These pictures were taken on a Sunday after the service.

So most days I am there for some part of the day to work out and then we have practices on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I’ve also spent time going to various therapy and doctor’s appointments trying to get my foot healthy. The ankle joint was extremely locked up, my arch had started falling, and I was getting sharp pains in front of the inside of my ankle. I’ve had my ankle yanked and pulled on and squeezed and stretched and I got acupuncture in different parts of my leg to help loosen up the muscles around my ankle and in my arch. Thankfully, things really started loosening up last Friday and tonight I get to practice again for the first time in three weeks. I am so excited for it and really ready to get on the court. My foot feels the best it has felt since before the injury.

Another huge blessing is my team. The girls have been really welcoming. I have gotten to spend a little bit of time with a couple of them outside of basketball and they’re great girls. Not only that, but watching them play this last weekend was inspiring. They worked hard and brought up their intensity level tremendously. It’s never fun to sit out, but honestly, I was just so engaged in the games and so excited cheering for them that come game time I wasn’t thinking about myself at all. I am really eager though to be on the floor now :).

I have also gotten to see some sights and events since being here. Here are some pictures from Kings Park- a big beautiful park right near the downtown area and the Swan River (uh, I think it's the Swan River...right near a river):




This is from going to the Wildcats’ Basketball game.


It was fun except that they lost. The coach to the far left is Andy Stewart,the director of our club! He also assists for the Wildcats. He is a great coach and I have really enjoyed learning from him. He may or may not have threatened to break my nose today, but I may or may not have called him a pansy before that…so as you may or may not be able to tell, my quest to figure him out and joke around with him is rolling right along…



Another fun event I got to see was Australian football. I don’t have pictures from that but people, it’s as crazy as they tell you it is. The first time I saw it on TV I thought to myself “this looks like a bunch of high school girls running around” which is probably a huge insult but it looked like a bunch of men in short shorts running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Seeing the game played live helped me get a feel for actual rules and strategy (but seeing the short shorts live was not an improvement at all)…It really isn’t like American football at all, but is much more like soccer with how quickly the ball changes possession. There are tackles but it’s not the same as the NFL where you have these 400 LB monsters all ending up in a pile. There is much more movement and requires an entirely different skill set and athletic type. I’m sure the sport will grow on me, and I really respect the athletes, but I do still love American Football.

Of course another favorite activity here is hitting up the beach. I’ve gotten to see three different beaches so far and they’re all beautiful. What’s not to love about warm weather, cool blue water that doesn’t freeze you upon entry, and tons of sunshine???

The church here has been a huge blessing. This is the Pastor, Anthony Palmeiri.

A few weeks ago I got to sit down with him and just talk for about an hour, telling him more about myself and my background and then really just talking about the church and theology. I really appreciate him and am excited not only to learn from him, but from the people here. I have felt beyond welcomed here. I have people come up to me all of the time and introduce themselves. The people are so warm and caring and I was just thinking to myself the other day when the service ended how blessed I am to be at a place where I love going to church and I look forward to going to church. I think that says a lot about the people here and also about what God is doing in my own heart.

Two Sundays ago my friend Jeremy, who is the youth pastor at Lakeside, led a night service on worship. The evening consisted of singing praise songs with the band as well as going through a series of stations where we had the opportunity to take some time to pray and write down confessions and lay them before a cross, take communion, take time to pray and give thanks and praise to God, and to reflect on different verses in the Bible that talk about the light of God and then light a candle in significance of our devotion to the light of our lives and the light we have within us. It was such a huge huge blessing. I just saw there and reflected on the fact that I am such an imcomplete worshipper because I am a fallible human and God is well…God, but He has made me everything I need to be to worship Him exactly how He wants to be worshipped, because He views me as He views His Son- and His Son worshipped perfectly. It was so exciting to think about.

Right now I am still at the Van Schies. I will probably move out in a week or so, but I have still just loved my time here. I really do feel so at home, like I can just be myself and kick back. Riley and I have continued our “on again off again” relationship (he randomly decides to tell me that I am naughty and that he’s going to hurt me) but we have a lot of fun together. Today he was chasing me around the house with a dust buster- until he made the mistake of tossing it at me and I got a hold of it and chased him around for a while. It’s so fun to hear a three year old giggle.

Another reason it is great to live with the Van Schies? Occasionally Jason will drive down to his friend's cafe just up the road and bring me back a coffee...and sometimes he will even bring me one of these bad boys- a Lamington. Here is the official word from about.com/australia: Lamingtons are a quintessential part of every Australian's childhood. The little sponge cake is dipped in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut.

I can't imagine a better combination of ingredients. Australians are brilliant...

So all in all, literally every day I spend time just thanking God for bringing me here, and many times still apologizing for questioning Him so much when I had to leave Germany (I know He forgives me, but sometimes I still feel a little sheepish)…I know that there will be more challenges along the way (the challenges so far being my foot), but I am just overwhelmed by how much I have just enjoyed it here.


I am excited to keep getting plugged in, to keep getting healthy, and to keep experiencing new things!




**Since writing this I played my first game. It was really fun, but at times really painful as well. My foot has been pretty sore since. I am going to get a cortisone shot after all. Uh...I think that's the main update ;)

Reformission On My Mind

Okay I know that it seems like I should have already posted another blog about my experiences here (okay, a first blog about my experiences here), but that’s just not what is on my mind right now. So, I promise I will do that soon (definitely sticking to a completely relative term there on purpose), but for now you can read about what’s on my mind or check back later for more details on basketball, the weather and such :).
One of the things I have been doing while in Perth so far is reading “The Radical Reformission” by Mark Driscoll. I know that mentioning that name can evoke very different emotions for different people so I will say this- I cannot completely endorse the man. I don’t feel that I have read enough of his stuff, heard enough of his sermons, or known exactly what has stirred all the controversy, to make a final judgment on the dude. Am I supposed to be making a judgment on him anyway? As I have read this book, I will be honest, I have cringed a few times at the way he has chosen to describe a few things- perhaps in an effort to seem real to all people, perhaps in efforts for humor, I’m not sure exactly. But I also know that more often when reading this book I have been pierced to the core- humbled, convicted, motivated, inspired, and even overwhelmed at the sort of love that God has given to me, to all of us. I think that his experiences and perspectives are completely worth reading and mulling over.

One particular passage that literally brought tears to my eyes and brought that sick twisting into my stomach was reading through his explanation of the story of Jonah. Driscoll points out that Jonah was unwilling to love people who God loved and that Jonah cared more about a plant and his own comfort than he did about a group of people who were going to be destroyed. He talked about how it is the Jewish custom to read the book of Jonah on the Day of Atonement. Apparently, at the end of the reading, the Jews reply, “We are Jonah.” That alone stopped me for a few seconds as the statement and the mental picture mentally and emotionally knocked the wind out of me. I imagine a group of devout Jews, God's chosen people, making such an admission and it humbles me severely. Driscoll remarks, “This truth is essential for rightly relating to Jonah. We are Jonah when, because we do not like them, we run from God’s call on our lives to bring the gospel to lost people, who he loves.”

This really made me think. Our God is so stunningly complex. His standard of holiness is unobtainable, the very word holy carrying the meaning of perfection, unblemished, completely set apart from sin. He has held this standard over all of us. Yet at the same time, when we have failed to reach that standard, even in the most gruesome, despicable, unbelievable ways, He has not failed to love and pursue us. Why then, why, do I fail to love and pursue the people who I think are failing to meet His standard? Why do I fail to love and pursue the people who are failing to meet my standard?

Driscoll goes on to point out the severe difference between worldliness and culture. He explains how we have often written people off as worldly because they operate in a different culture than we do- and culture is not bound simply by what continent you live on. There are sub cultures upon sub cultures that we completely disregard. The inner city kid has grown up in a completely different culture than the one from suburbia- and even those are pretty general terms. Do we try to understand the experiences, thoughts, expressions, etc that have shaped people or do we write them off because they do not fit into our version of Christian living?

Another thing that I have greatly appreciated about Driscoll is his emphasis that understanding a person’s culture, and trying to be relevant is never ever an excuse to sacrifice biblical truth. It is never a compromise on what is clearly laid out in scripture- it is rather a call to actually be discerning over what the Bible really says and to examine our own prejudices, our own compromises, and to be completely firm and solid and unashamed of the absolutes that we are given. It is not that the standard of holiness no longer matters, it is that the failure to reach the standard should never cause us to write people off but to engage them in a way that they will understand so that they can see the standard and love and trust the only One who can meet it for them- just as He had to meet it for us.

The book is thought provoking- what is the nature of church? What is my responsibility to my neighbors? What does it mean to be missional in my life right now? How do I avoid compromise and at the same time cast away any legalism I have built up?

How would Jesus really respond to the people around me?

Will I allow my discomfort, my laziness, my annoyances, my fears to guide me? How can I walk by the Spirit instead?

I want to be comfortable. That is honest. But I want to see God’s hand more. I am praying that He will push me and help me to love and pursue like He does. And honestly, that is a scary prayer because more often I am the Elijah who sat on a hill and cried out of fear rather than the one who called down fire from heaven, more like Jonah crying over a plant than Jesus sitting and chatting with the town prostitute.

So all that to say, I highly recommend the book. I would love to hear your (yeah you) thoughts on it, good and bad. And I’d love to hear how others are living as missionaries right where they are. God's heart is for the world, but we must see that the world is not an abstract people group thousands of miles away from me; the world is the guy at work, the family next door, maybe even that person in the other room.

Perth Cast of Characters

It is hard to believe that I have already been in Perth for five days. It has flown by and been an absolute pleasure so far. I’m still adjusting to the major time difference (15 hours) but I am feeling better and better. Last night I went to bed about 9:30 pm and I woke up this morning at 6:30 am…So yeah, pretty much my usual sleeping pattern ;) Ha!

Well I thought I’d take a little time today and give you a cast of characters, so that as I tell you stories of what’s going on here you can have an idea of who is who.

First off is Andy Stewart who is the Director of Coaches at Lakeside and the man who I had first heard from after emailing their club. He was the one I had gone back and forth with through e-mails and who called me that Monday morning to tell me I should pack up and head to Perth. I had been warned ahead of time that Andy has quite a sense of humor, but I am still “figuring him out” which I have also been assured I’ll never be able to do. Reason being is Andy has about the driest sense of humor of anyone I have ever met. His tone never changes, so you’re not sure when he’s joking and when he’s being serious, which is actually pretty fun . He has an obvious passion for the game of basketball and he coaches not only with the men of the Lakeside Lightning, but with the Perth Wildcats, the pro team here. Today he came into the gym and gave me some things I can work on. He also has a real care for people and I am excited to get to know him and his family better and feel free to joke with him the way I see others doing.

David Preston is the chaplain for the men’s team at Lakeside and a pastor at Lakeside Baptist (they’re the same place really, the Church runs the rec league and it all takes place in one building, so I tend to use those two names interchangeably). He is the man who called me the Friday before I had been offered the spot to talk to me about my faith and what not. He is incredibly kind and warm and checks on me regularly- making sure that I am feeling comfortable, making sure that my parents are doing alright without me, and filling me in on who people are. The other day he came up to me to greet me and ask me how I’ve been doing so far and after assuring him that I was doing very well and enjoying everyone he said “so you feel loved then?” I smiled and nodded. He said “good!” He is so genuine and also, has a huge heart for people.

The Van Schies are the family that I am currently staying with. Jess Van Schie is the assistant coach for the team and a former player. She is taking the season off this year from playing because she is due to have a baby in July (we’re all hoping for a girl)! Jess is really great. She has a great sense of humor and sarcasm which of course makes me feel right at home, and she likes to dish it back to Andy which is fun to watch. She is a great mom to her little boy Riley who is nearly three and a crack up. She just takes everything in stride. In addition, she calls me "doll" and "love" and who couldn't like that?
*Side note* I am noticing that pet names are big in Australia and I am loving it!
Jason Van Schie is Jess’s husband and also fantastic. He told me pretty quickly that he has always been a Phoenix Suns fan because he used to love Kevin Johnson, so of course I liked him automatically ;). He even showed me this binder full of old Suns cards as well as a game he downloaded from back in the day of the Suns and Sonics playing- with players like KJ, Kidd, and Rex Chapman on the floor! Jason is really kind and he is the sort of person who asks questions and takes an interest in other people. He is so patient with Riley (their little boy) and just a good guy.

Riley is a crack up and a half. He is full of energy and silliness and somehow, though he had been told my name is Jess, has taken to calling me Jessica. He now likes to say my name all of the time. Riley has curly blonde hair and long skinny arms and legs. He wears glasses to help with a drifting eye and has the cutest little grin which he always pulls out when begging for something with a “Paah weeeese?” He's always on the move and he just says the funniest stuff. Today he jumped at me and said "BOO!" So I started doing it back to him, but it wasn't like we were creeping out from behind anything, we just took turns jumping at each other and saying boo. He was getting a kick out of it, so of course I was too.

Laurie (I am sorry if I am spelling that wrong) is the occupational therapist I have been going to, some call him a physio. He is highly energetic and he calls everyone darling and what not and hugs you hello and good bye and just loves to chat. A few of the Lakeside guys have been referring to him as the "witch doctor" because he just does all kinds of stretching and manipulation that really hurts but helps and he loads you up on supplements and weird elixors and these things called “footsies” which are patches you put on the bottom of your feet at night which supposedly pull the toxins out of your body. Not sure what my verdict is on them yet...but anyway,

I have met the two American guys from the men’s team. Luke is pretty quiet, he is an only child, and I've heard, an awesome ball player. I think he was MVP of the league last year or at least on the all-star team. He is very unassuming, not all that tall for a ball player, and just quietly goes about his day. He is very kind and, as I found out yesterday at the beach, is also a daredevil (he was doing flips off the pier into the water)... I think he’s from South Carolina.

The other dude is Ben, a farmer from Iowa. He has had the task of giving me rides a few times (I don’t have a car yet) so I’ve talked to him a bit more than Luke so far. He is pretty funny, but not always because he’s trying to be. The good thing is that when I laugh at him he laughs too. Ben thought it was so crazy that I went to The Master’s College because one of the big things that impacted him to make a decision to follow Christ was listening to John MacArthur preach and he had considered going to The Master’s Seminary. Another semi-coincidence is that he was also looking to go play in Luxembourg but ended up back in Australia (Ben and Luke have both already played several seasons here). Last crazy connection is Ben and Luke both know several people that I know. Small world! Anyway, Ben’s dream is to somehow have a ministry that incorporates a farm, cows, and basketball. If that’s not heaven, I don’t know what is ;) ha ha!

I am sure there will be more characters to add to this list, especially teammates. We have had two practices so far, the third one is tonight, but I am still not practicing. I am just shooting around this week. I have gotten to chat a small bit with a couple of the girls who are also coming back from injuries, but haven’t had a ton of interaction so far. Regardless, the girls have been very friendly and I am looking forward to getting to know them better.

So far everyone I have encountered has been very warm and welcoming. I have met so many people at church already and everyone seems excited to see me and I have already been told several times “you will have to come over for a barbecue!”

I am very blessed by the kindness I have received so far and I thank God for it! It is the people that make our experiences and so far this one has been wonderful!

From Berlin to My Parents' to...Perth!?

So here I sit in the San Francisco airport whittling away time on a 7 hour layover before heading to Sydney, Australia where I will then get on another plane to Perth. How in the world did this come about? How did I get from Berlin to my parents’ couch to here?

I have to admit, I was in a world of ups and downs the last few months. I don’t think that’s a real secret so I won’t try to deny it now. I mean, I did already blog a 2 part essay entitled “What the Heck is Going On?”…I don’t think that would ever lead anyone to think I was trooping through life like the Apostle Paul saying I’m content with anything including chains. I was not content. I was not content to be living with my parents (by no means because of them, they are the greatest saints in this story, it was my own sense of pride that doesn’t want to be that 28 year old with no direction, laying in her pajamas on her parents’ couch at 3 in the afternoon watching re-runs and eating endless bowls of Captain Crunch…Okay the Captain Crunch may sound appealing but…)…I lost my train of though. Oh yes, I was not content feeling like I had failed in Germany, like I was an idiot for not wearing ankle braces, like I had no idea what God was doing or wanted me to do…I had moments of contentment. I had those bright spots of faith and trust when I felt that God really must be doing something but I just needed to be patient…and then I had those impatient moments. My parents, maybe to be renamed St. Thomas and Mother Jeanine (I’m sorry, does that even make sense) listened to me time and again and always encouraged me and lifted me up.

So…as I was going through that time I was trying to figure out what to do next. Ryan Zamroz had told me before I ever left for Berlin that if things did not work out for me in Europe, then I should look into the Australian leagues which don’t start till March. (*Complete random side comment…So I found this little work space thing to sit in, which is incredibly uncomfortable, but have crammed myself into it and unpacked a load of my stuff because it has an outlet---just now looked and realized that it’s not even doing anything, so I’m still wearing out my battery…sweet…)

So anyway. I used some of the loads of free time I had outside of doing physical therapy and working out to create a short highlight video and send out emails to this mondo list of teams in Australia. Ryan had sent me links to various leagues over there and advised me to just send out as many emails as I could as soon as I could. So that happened right at the start of January. One of the teams I had emailed is called the Lakeside Lightning. I had noticed when looking on their webpage that their team was owned by a church, and the thought crossed my mind “wouldn’t it be cool if I could play there and help at the church?” But that kinda ended there as I went on to emailing the next group of teams…

A week later that thought returned when I got an email from the Lightning’s director of coaches, asking me how I had gotten interest in their club and if I would want to start communicating. Uh yes please! From there I began a short series of emails with Andy (director guy’s name), hearing from him usually several days after I’d emailed him (guessing the 15 hour time difference has something to do with that, as well as the fact that they were also already talking to another player)…So I didn’t really know how this communication was going. I couldn’t get a clear idea of the level of interest that they had but I did have some hope about the situation. I was intrigued by what I was finding out about this club. They are owned by Lakeside Baptist Church in Perth, Australia- one of maybe three churches in the world to own a pro sports team. The church owns and operates out of a rec center that serves some 6000 people a week from the community. The team motto is “where it’s more than a game” and the logo features a cross with a basketball…Uh, what? For reals? God? Is that You? Yeah. I think so. Okay anyway. So right around the end of January Andy said he wanted me to speak with the team chaplain and we set up a time to talk via telefono (that's telephone for all you unilingual speakers). Pastor David called me on a Friday evening and we spoke for a bit, him asking me about my relationship with Jesus, church, degree, life aspirations, and more. Again, I enjoyed the conversation but couldn’t really get a read on how serious these people were about me. Pastor David wrapped up the conversation letting me know that he was not the one to choose the new player but was to report back about our conversation. He encouraged me that God would use me anywhere He led me and to keep praying about whether or not that would be with Lakeside. He assured me they were doing the same on their end. He said he did not know what the next step was or what I should expect. With that, all I did expect was to get an email back from Andy with some sort of commentary on what he’d heard about our conversation and what that next step should be. I was thinking another phone call, whether with Andy himself or the coach or something…

Well it turned out the next step was a phone call after all- but not at all what I had mentally prepared for. Monday morning about 7am the phone rang. Seeing as how I’d been hanging out with a friend till 2 am the previous morning I was not up and about…Okay that makes it sound like otherwise I would have been up and about. Anyway, someone left a message on the answering machine-- from my half conscious state I assumed it was someone calling for my mom to sub and I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. A few minutes later Mother Jeanine (is it coming across that this is a play on Mother Theresa? I hope so) came into my room and got me up, letting me know that someone from Australia had called and said he’d call back again in 20 minutes. I got up out of bed and started walking around the house, trying to wake myself up for the upcoming conversation. When you’re talking to someone who may hire you, you want it to seem like you woke up at 5am, ran a half marathon, ate a full breakfast, had some quiet time, and strategized for your day already culminating in a bulletpoint outline that will undoubtedly get accomplished by 5 pm…I am not sure if that’s what came across, but 20 min later the phone rang, I answered, and Andy was on the other end saying something I most definitely did not expect:

“Well, are you packed?”

I just laughed. What?! This is it? My mind started talking to itself- this is it, you are going, they want you, you’re going to Australia! Of course none of that was being absorbed but I kept trying anyway, meanwhile I spoke back “Uh, should I be?” (duh)…

“Yeah, I think you should!”

Me…”well when should I be packed for?”

“When can you come?”

Me…"ha …uh…I can really come any time”

We’d like you here in 7-10 days….

Me…”ok!” Inside (huh? Whoa, what? Cool, yikes, I’m hungry, Where is Perth again? Etc etc etc)

So anyway, that is the gist of how it came about. Andy informed me that I will have a blast in Perth and that he had called me rather than emailed me so that he could hear my reaction. I hope that I communicated it well that I was really excited but I think I was more a little stunned at the time. The job includes playing basketball and using basketball to share my love of Jesus with other people- and get paid for it. Saweeeeeeeeet!

So one would think I entered into a frenzy in trying to get ready to leave the country in 10 days. Uh…it was something like that (Hey, give me a little credit, I did manage to throw a bridal shower for my best friend Gracie poo Tappe that very next Saturday- of course with great help from Mother Jeanine, and miss Tappe’s family and twinner Amber). There are a few things that may not have gotten accomplished…The key thing is that I am now another step closer to getting to Perth. I made it to San Francisco. I could definitely write a whole extra page on the last few hours, but I will spare you. For now.

The biggest thing to take away from this is that God is always at work and man has He delivered big time here. I kept praying that I would trust Him and honor Him whether He gave me a place to play or not. I am humbled that He chose to give me a place to play. Now I am praying that He will get and keep me healthy and that most of all, I will honor Him through this next experience!

My team/church has a web page, as my German coach would say “Google it up!” Lakeside Lightning. :)

What the Heck is Going On (Part 2)

So when I first started writing “What the Heck is Going On?” it was because of my utter confusion over what was taking place in my life in Germany…the utter confusion has not ceased...

I guess it had felt like so many things came together for me to be able to get to Germany, that I thought for sure God was doing something to work it out for me to stay there. Or at least to stay in Europe and play basketball. There was so much thought and prayer and emotion put into the decision, I sought counsel from so many different people and I had been given not only a green light but a blessing from my boss…it just seemed like everything was heading to some positive climax.

When I packed to leave for Germany, I packed to leave for the season. I did not know whether I’d be able to come home for Christmas, but I figured even if I could it would only be a visit…Then I lost the coaching job…then I hurt my ankle…I couldn’t understand what was happening, what was God doing?

I got the email about the Luxembourg team. I thought maybe this was God’s way of taking care of me- of getting me therapy since I had no insurance, but no. I thought maybe this was God’s way of providing a professional job for me, but no. I am not sure exactly what happened with them, but they decided to keep the player I was meant to replace. I wonder how much of it was their (appropriate) worry over me being healthy. Good call on their part because I am still on the mend…

So here I am at home. I wish I could say I know now what God was/is doing, but I can’t. His ways are just as hidden to me, just as perplexing. After finding out the Luxembourg gig was a for sure no go I felt such mixed emotions. I was wanting to just take it in stride and trust God and rejoice in the Lord always…I was in and out of thinking/feeling that way…I was also in and out of utter disappointment, feeling like a failure, and sorry for myself…oh and then there was the guilt over feeling so down about such a small problem when other people have real problems…

A new ray of hope popped up quickly. My dad came home from work, I think the next day, and told me that there was a job opening at the church…I thought this must be God’s answer to my prayer for provision, and something I can do while I heal…Maybe I am meant to just stay here and try the whole bball thing again in the summer…I went and talked with one of the pastors about it and it seemed like everything was good to go…the only thing really that would prevent me from getting the job would be if something came up with basketball in the next few weeks…I started getting myself excited about the job and thinking about how I could work rehab and training in with it and what extra work experience it might give me…But a few days later I found out that there had been some miscommunication over budgeting and the job could not be offered at this time…

The next thing to sorta take some wind out of my sails was going back to the foot doctor…It was meant to be my “final visit”- an appointment made about a month earlier under the assumption that I would be ready to play and heading off to Europe at the start of January…Instead, the doctor expressed concern over the amount of pain I was still in and said it would be best for me to get an MRI (I hadn’t previously, he didn’t think I needed one)…So I got an MRI and while I was thankful that I didn’t have any tears or fractures, I was disappointed to hear that the bone bruises were much worse than he had anticipated and he thought it could be another 4 weeks until I would be able to start running…It was hard to think that if I had just gotten the MRI right away, when I first got back into town, I would have probably gone straight into a walking boot and who knows how much further along I would be now in the healing process?

So that leaves me at this current point. I sent out a bunch of emails and video to some teams in Australia, where the leagues do not start until March…there has been one response of semi-interest…I have also heard about another job that I sent my resume in for…have not heard anything back yet…I was also contacted by a basketball club in Berlin regarding maybe doing some coaching for them- I have no idea at this point if it is something I can do and still play at ASV and also make enough to live on…I am still waiting to hear back…

I really do not know what this is all meant to be. I am praying about it constantly, and again, as I had to do when I was laying on my back on the floor during the game I hurt my foot, I am constantly making a decision to not freak out about it and to just see what happens. I am asking God for healing, I am asking God for direction, I am asking God for the grace to be patient and to have His strength and not be a little whiner…I am looking for the bright spots- of which there really are some big ones. I am so thankful for this time with my family. I am so thankful to be with my parents again and to see Megan, Brian, and the kiddos. I am thankful for time to read and to think…

The battle is for me to look back on those two and a half months in Berlin and wonder, what was going on? What was that all about? I have already described this feeling many times, but it really is how I feel- I feel like I was getting ready for a great adventure, like I got on the airplane and we never quite got off the ground…I had written previously that I struggled while in Germany to define my experience, and I find it equally, if not more, difficult now. It just feels so unfinished. But that may only be due to the expectations that I had. I have no idea what God’s storyline looks like, how maybe I was a minor character in some plot He was working out for someone else. I have no idea how He may re-introduce me to the story later. I have no idea how the plot of my life will unfold for the next chapter.

So for now I keep waiting, trying to make the most of the present, trying to be calm even when I don’t know what the heck is going on. I’m also trying to brainstorm for what I can do next…it seems that in the next couple of weeks I will know whether or not there is any real possibility of going to Australia, which my hunch is that there is not. Maybe there will be an opportunity to return to Berlin with this new coaching gig…Maybe I need to just start working here in Phoenix…Maybe I should return to school at last…If I stay here I have some ideas for doing some volunteer work…One thing I know is my God is for me and I will keep choosing to trust…