ironing

This morning I was working in hospitality (right now, that's what I do in the mornings until lunch), and the task today was ironing. Because of the summer holidays, and staff days, and everything, there was A LOT of sheets and stuff to iron... so I did... for like three hours... and I got a blister on my hand, not from heat but from holding the iron and using it so long!! Haha!

Who would have thought that THIS American girl would iron SHEETS and TOWELS for three hours, when I didn't even iron my wrinkly shirt before?! I guess it's always good to learn new skills! :-) And I still had enough energy and enthusiasm to pose for an action photo!...



F.Y.I.: We iron so much so that things will be nice for our guests who come to visit YWAM Heidebeek! So it's worth it for sure! :-)

ta-da!

I considered changing blogs completely, because actually "kartvelley" is a Georgian word for a person of Georgian nationality (e.g. like "American"). Buuut, after careful consideration (or pure sloth), I've decided to keep it for now. It's a hassle anyways to re-inform everyone of the new address and blah blah blah. So, here I am. But now posting no longer from Tbilisi, but from The Netherlands. Heerde, to be exact. And YWAM Heidebeek to be more exact (probably I'll use the word Heidebeek frequently, so you can know what I'm talking about-- it's the base we work on).

We arrived a little over a week ago. It's a huge transition for sure. Let's make some comparisons:

# of full-time staff on YWAM base
Georgia: between 5 and 9
Heidebeek: between 80-100

# of years in operation
Georgia: 5 years
Heidebeek: like 30 years or something?!

# of DTS students in a year
Georgia: 4-9 students
Heidebeek: 60 students

Need I say more? :-)

We aren't working with DTS at the moment though. Because of all the adjustments we are going through, we are hanging out in the support ministries-- maintenance, hospitality, etc. for a while to recover and get rooted again. And after that... well, we'll see.

Okay, off to dinner.

transitions

Pretty much..... I'm in a whirlwind that's called: gettingmarriedtoabelgianandmakingalotofpaperworkandtakingresponsibilityfornecessarythingswhichmakessomepeoplenotveryhappy.

That's just part one!

SO much to get done-- but praise GOD, I've made it through some of the mess. Most of the paperwork for changing my name is done. Some other paperwork stuff to get taken care of. And the wedding? Well, probably I'm not half as organized as I should be. I just hope that it will all work out!

In the end, I'll be married-- right?

:-)

one year

Spring is amazing. I love being woken up by the blazing bright sun at 8:30am. Eating breakfast and drinking coffee leisurely in the sunlight as well. Pretty much spring sun just makes everything nice.

And today is also a nice day. The ONE year anniversary of being with Wim! (mushy mushy). No but seriously, I love that man. It's been an incredible year- good and hard things both- but I really love him. And I'm so grateful to God for love! It's a indescribably great experience.

Well, I guess I'm pretty optimistic today. :-)

a smell-alogue.

It's amazing you know. I've had chronic problems with my sinuses for 3+ years, which has led to losing my sense of smell. Losing, in some sense. It would come and go. Sometimes coming for a minute and leaving for months. And when I was lucky it was staying for like a week. But now again I have it back, it's been more than a week. And every morning I'm praising Jesus and pleading in my heart that it will stay and never leave again!

Imagine, not being able to smell... I mean, there are some benefits for sure. Cigarette smoke in restaurants didn't bother me (although I'm sure the 2nd hand smoke still killed me a little every time). Georgian toilets didn't phase me. My fiance never repelled me with body odor or bad breath. So, of course it wasn't 100% bad.

But also imagine, not being able to smell your shampoo when you're showering. Or your hot cup of coffee in the morning. Or food that you're cooking. Also not being able to smell if food has gone bad or if your clothes stink. I have the best friends ever, because over the years I've continually gone to them asking: "Does this smell okay?"-- with food... and my dirty clothes. ;-) Wim bought me perfume in January and I had never smelled it, until last week. It's such a sad feeling that everyone around you experiences something you can't.

But now that I CAN smell, I'm living in the glorious world of sensory 3-d and it's incredible! Every little smell excites me and I feel like I'm experiencing life for the first-time. Seriously, it's that dramatic. I rejoice when I smell the smoke from the woodstove, or the musty-ness of the metro, or even the body odor of my man. AND I can taste better too. For the first time I've really tasted my mouthwash, and even I realized I didn't like some food that I thought I had. Because my taste is also sensitized. IT'S AMAZING. Actually, in some way it almost feels worth it. To be deprived of something for so long and then have it back again, it makes that thing much more sweet.

Okay, I'm done talking about smelling. But seriously, sniff something you love and think what it would be like if you never smelled that again. Then maybe you can sympathize with me. ;-)

the world outside

I just know that God is alive and that Jesus is a willing shepherd and the Holy Spirit is a loving comforter. I know it. It's crazy though, in our world, to say that. I feel surrounded by big, gray, sky-high walls of unbelief and humanism. Everything setting itself up against the knowledge of God. But with God, I can rise above those walls and see the world that exists on the outside.

When I'm out in town, or around a lot of people, I just have this nagging feeling like I'm privileged. Not superior, just privileged. To see the world. To see life. Not just to stare at boring gray walls all day, every day. And I want all people to experience this privilege!!! There's so much freedom. And it's not just words-- it's true. It's real. And it's in Jesus. Not in money, religion, health, happiness, spirituality, holiness, goodness, understanding... no. Only in Jesus.

My heart cries for people to realize and believe.

a return

I'm kind of trying to avoid the whole line of, "wow... it's been so long since I've written something here"... but am feeling awkward to just jump right into a normal blog post.

I've heard that blogging decreases when you fall in love, and I'm a living testimony that it's true. I guess the main answer is: less time ?

Well, I'll take baby steps. Slowly slowly making an effort to ease back into the blogging world....

we're engaged!

Wim asked me to marry him on December 4th, 2010.... and I said, yes!

We're not sure about the date of the wedding yet (due to the extreme internationality of it all- he's Belgian, I'm American and we live in Georgia)... but will figure it out as soon as we can!