Sarah/Kimchee has taken the lead, followed closely by Jessica! However, we have completed only round one of three. If you would like to join the game late, simply take both quizzes. The person with the highest cumulative score after three quizzes will be the winner.
Best of luck to you all!
Nepal Quiz 2
Monday, February 27, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Nepal Quiz Week One
Hello Friends,
This is a little game for all of you! No cheating/googling answers! Winner will get a special prize shipped to his or her doorstep all the way from Nepal!
Enjoy!
PS. The first question should say "Right," not "Ride."
Take Wendy's Nepal quiz
This is a little game for all of you! No cheating/googling answers! Winner will get a special prize shipped to his or her doorstep all the way from Nepal!
Enjoy!
PS. The first question should say "Right," not "Ride."
Take Wendy's Nepal quiz
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Engaged again?
It was the morning after we got engaged and we were happily walking our way down to school where we anticipated the waves of excitement from friends and students. On the way we ran into a woman from our little Nepali church. We greeted her, and Simon gave me a look that meant I should tell her our news. I showed her my shiny ring. In place of happiness and congratulations was a stern look. She asked us where we got engaged. I said, “Near the corner of Naku.” She wasn’t happy with this answer. “It would have been good if you had done it in the church” was her reply and she walked away.
I remember fumbling through a lot of cultural misunderstandings when I first lived in Nepal. I hadn’t experienced a good cultural blunder for a while, but the feeling returned quickly. We set up a meeting with our Nepali pastor that night to ask him what had gone wrong. He explained to us that in Nepal, engagement is more of a family affair. Parents set up marriages, even if it is not an arranged marriage per se… the family is still a big part of the process. For Christians, the church is also a big part of engagement. A Nepali Christian couple wouldn’t dare get engaged without the church’s consent, and even assistance!
We had to make it up to our offended Christian family. We decided to get engaged again, and this time properly; in the church.
Our second engagement happened two weeks after the first, on a Saturday morning in church. The pastor’s wife kindly let me wear one of her saris, and Simon put on his suit and a Nepali dhaka topi hat. We were seated on plastic chairs at the front of the church. The pastor waxed eloquent on the meaning of engagement, and different Biblical examples of engagement. He then proceeded to explain to us that we were only 25% married. This meant that we are now allowed to spend time alone together a little bit. We are also allowed to go out on dates! Who knew dating was only allowed after engagement! We perhaps have made more cultural blunders than our churchless betrothal! He was also very clear that we are not yet allowed to sleep together. Imagine that at your home church!
We were then asked a few questions (in Nepali).. something like, “Do you, in your own free-will want to marry this man?” and “Do you promise to wait (for sex?) until marriage?” Our engagement vows were not unaccompanied by a few giggles. We were also expected to exchange rings for the engagement. I hadn’t bought Simon a ring yet, so I went out and bought an iron ring for about 2 dollars! It did the trick.
The pastor then turned to us and asked if our parents had come to witness/bless the engagement. Due to their absence, we asked the only other foreign-faced person at the church, (Richard, the head of the humanities department at KISC, and a friend of ours) to come up and fill the role. He made up a blessing on the spot brilliantly.
The party continued on to the pastor’s residence where we had a big pile of chicken fried in Nepali spices, and rice that had not been cooked, but beaten out until it resembled oatmeal. It was a nice after-party. All of our close Nepali friends from Kathmandu were able to be there, and we felt we had redeemed ourselves for our previous private engagement.
It was a learning experience, but also a huge blessing to us. The church did everything for our party except pay for the food ingredients. We had free dress, cooks, set up, clean up… it was the easiest party I have ever thrown.
Simon has also posted a video of the event on his blog! If you would like to see that, click here
I remember fumbling through a lot of cultural misunderstandings when I first lived in Nepal. I hadn’t experienced a good cultural blunder for a while, but the feeling returned quickly. We set up a meeting with our Nepali pastor that night to ask him what had gone wrong. He explained to us that in Nepal, engagement is more of a family affair. Parents set up marriages, even if it is not an arranged marriage per se… the family is still a big part of the process. For Christians, the church is also a big part of engagement. A Nepali Christian couple wouldn’t dare get engaged without the church’s consent, and even assistance!
We had to make it up to our offended Christian family. We decided to get engaged again, and this time properly; in the church.
Our second engagement happened two weeks after the first, on a Saturday morning in church. The pastor’s wife kindly let me wear one of her saris, and Simon put on his suit and a Nepali dhaka topi hat. We were seated on plastic chairs at the front of the church. The pastor waxed eloquent on the meaning of engagement, and different Biblical examples of engagement. He then proceeded to explain to us that we were only 25% married. This meant that we are now allowed to spend time alone together a little bit. We are also allowed to go out on dates! Who knew dating was only allowed after engagement! We perhaps have made more cultural blunders than our churchless betrothal! He was also very clear that we are not yet allowed to sleep together. Imagine that at your home church!
We were then asked a few questions (in Nepali).. something like, “Do you, in your own free-will want to marry this man?” and “Do you promise to wait (for sex?) until marriage?” Our engagement vows were not unaccompanied by a few giggles. We were also expected to exchange rings for the engagement. I hadn’t bought Simon a ring yet, so I went out and bought an iron ring for about 2 dollars! It did the trick.
The pastor then turned to us and asked if our parents had come to witness/bless the engagement. Due to their absence, we asked the only other foreign-faced person at the church, (Richard, the head of the humanities department at KISC, and a friend of ours) to come up and fill the role. He made up a blessing on the spot brilliantly.
The party continued on to the pastor’s residence where we had a big pile of chicken fried in Nepali spices, and rice that had not been cooked, but beaten out until it resembled oatmeal. It was a nice after-party. All of our close Nepali friends from Kathmandu were able to be there, and we felt we had redeemed ourselves for our previous private engagement.
It was a learning experience, but also a huge blessing to us. The church did everything for our party except pay for the food ingredients. We had free dress, cooks, set up, clean up… it was the easiest party I have ever thrown.
Simon has also posted a video of the event on his blog! If you would like to see that, click here
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The story!
I didn’t know it was a romantic evening, or I probably wouldn’t have eaten so much! I cleaned off two whole plates of rice and lentils and veg of various sorts. I even considered sneakily unbuttoning my jeans while Simon went to pay. As we were walking out, he turned the wrong way… away from home. I was confused, and asked him if he was going the wrong way. He said no, and asked me to join him for a walk.
Walks are not completely out of the ordinary for us either. I gladly walked with him, and soon realized we were heading back towards our old tree. It was the tree we had sat under on our first date. We had picked the tree the first time because it was the closest thing to a scenic spot we could find after walking almost an hour. We walked all the way back out there, and sat ourselves down.
Simon commented on how he remembered the spot being a little more romantic. I couldn’t see any major differences from what it had been, but it warmed my heart that he wanted to associate romance with it. We stayed there talking for hours. I found out later that Simon was buying time until things got more romantic. It wasn’t working…
A woman with grey hair and a bent back kept walking up and down a little path beside where the tree was. She was carrying a candle, and would look up at us every now and then. We suspected that she was going back and fourth from the toilet out behind her house. She may have had some bowel issue or something. She did a good enough job of entertaining us while Simon waited for romance. Eventually she did succeed in her venture… we could tell by the smell. I was a little bit happy for her, but Simon was banging on about how it wasn’t romantic. I wonder what she made of us sitting there.
We kept talking and meditating together about life, God, scripture, ideas for the next year, and how we would get better involved in Nepali church, how we have grown and changed since coming to Nepal again…
About two hours had passed and I was starting to get cold. Simon gave me an extra coat he had packed and a goofy-looking hat. It struck me as romantic that he had thought ahead to bring extra clothes! I was a rice-stuffed, down-padded puffball. I told him we had better head back towards our houses because we had meetings at school all day the next day. He said ok, but I had to wait a few more minutes.
He pulled out a ring and asked me if I would accept it. I was just about as blindsided as I was as the day he asked me out in the first place. I had not come up with a nice answer, and I honestly hadn’t fully decided for myself! I knew I loved him. Is that enough? I said a quick prayer… something like “Oh God help!” and what flew through my mind after that were the words of Psalm 139. “O Lord you have searched me and you know me” and “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
I realized that maybe I will never know Simon as completely as I would like to believe is possible before getting married. I’ve known God for as many days as I can remember, and He has known me all the more. I have felt His hand leading me into this relationship, and giving me peace to pursue it even when it seemed risky and almost foolish. I saw in that moment under our tree that God wanted to show me His love through the man kneeling in front of me. Based on this maybe three seconds of thought, as shocked as I was, I felt confident enough to mutter out something like “I will.” I have never felt so blessed as the moments after that.
Simon proposed again in Nepali, just to show me he could. A lot of hugging followed that, and then some praying, then a one or two-mile giddy walk home. The ring turned out to be beautiful… A picture will follow whenever I can borrow a camera off someone.
If you would like to read Simon’s side of the story, click HERE!!
Love,
Wendy
Walks are not completely out of the ordinary for us either. I gladly walked with him, and soon realized we were heading back towards our old tree. It was the tree we had sat under on our first date. We had picked the tree the first time because it was the closest thing to a scenic spot we could find after walking almost an hour. We walked all the way back out there, and sat ourselves down.
Simon commented on how he remembered the spot being a little more romantic. I couldn’t see any major differences from what it had been, but it warmed my heart that he wanted to associate romance with it. We stayed there talking for hours. I found out later that Simon was buying time until things got more romantic. It wasn’t working…
A woman with grey hair and a bent back kept walking up and down a little path beside where the tree was. She was carrying a candle, and would look up at us every now and then. We suspected that she was going back and fourth from the toilet out behind her house. She may have had some bowel issue or something. She did a good enough job of entertaining us while Simon waited for romance. Eventually she did succeed in her venture… we could tell by the smell. I was a little bit happy for her, but Simon was banging on about how it wasn’t romantic. I wonder what she made of us sitting there.
We kept talking and meditating together about life, God, scripture, ideas for the next year, and how we would get better involved in Nepali church, how we have grown and changed since coming to Nepal again…
About two hours had passed and I was starting to get cold. Simon gave me an extra coat he had packed and a goofy-looking hat. It struck me as romantic that he had thought ahead to bring extra clothes! I was a rice-stuffed, down-padded puffball. I told him we had better head back towards our houses because we had meetings at school all day the next day. He said ok, but I had to wait a few more minutes.
He pulled out a ring and asked me if I would accept it. I was just about as blindsided as I was as the day he asked me out in the first place. I had not come up with a nice answer, and I honestly hadn’t fully decided for myself! I knew I loved him. Is that enough? I said a quick prayer… something like “Oh God help!” and what flew through my mind after that were the words of Psalm 139. “O Lord you have searched me and you know me” and “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
I realized that maybe I will never know Simon as completely as I would like to believe is possible before getting married. I’ve known God for as many days as I can remember, and He has known me all the more. I have felt His hand leading me into this relationship, and giving me peace to pursue it even when it seemed risky and almost foolish. I saw in that moment under our tree that God wanted to show me His love through the man kneeling in front of me. Based on this maybe three seconds of thought, as shocked as I was, I felt confident enough to mutter out something like “I will.” I have never felt so blessed as the moments after that.
Simon proposed again in Nepali, just to show me he could. A lot of hugging followed that, and then some praying, then a one or two-mile giddy walk home. The ring turned out to be beautiful… A picture will follow whenever I can borrow a camera off someone.
If you would like to read Simon’s side of the story, click HERE!!
Love,
Wendy
Sunday, January 1, 2012
An Old Year
Hello Friends,
I have many reasons to celebrate the New Year and I anticipate new blessings and changes, but I always tend to use this day to look back at the past year, and mark God’s faithfulness through it.
One year ago today I was able to celebrate the New Year with Simon and the Abrahamian family in Minnesota. It was snowy and cold, and we dropped 20-gallon bricks of ice off a balcony as our own ball dropping ceremony.
In the spring I graduated (finally) from Moody Bible Institute. Maybe a bachelor’s degree is not much in this new day and age when post-secondary education has almost become the standard, but I felt immensely privileged to be given that piece of paper. It was like carrying four years of studying, and working, and ministry, and friends in my hand and I felt unworthy to carry it. It is also only by God’s grace that I did not fail any classes or run out of money to pay for them.
In the summer I said my goodbyes to Chicago, and returned to Minnesota to spend time with my family and to earn some money. It was a good time of recovery from the stress of the last year of Moody, and a time of preparation for Nepal. In mid-July I said some more goodbyes, and hopped a plane for London. I spent two weeks in England with Simon and his family. We were in almost non-stop motion seeing places and meeting people. The day before our plane left again for Nepal, we were on the Southern coast of England at one of Simon’s friend’s weddings. We left at midnight after the wedding to arrive in London the next morning where Simon spoke in two services at church. We then packed our bags after lunch and caught an early-evening flight to Kathmandu!
In August I became a teacher. (Or started the long process of learning how to pretend to know how to teach). I think I was about as nervous that first week as I have ever been about anything. I didn’t know how to prepare for a class, or how to plan a lesson. I didn’t know the students or how many of them I would have or how they would behave. I spent much of the first few weeks trying to survive and make some sort of good first impression. I don’t know that I did so well. Many of the students learned quickly that I am soft, and don’t know any cool disciplinary tricks.
The school I am working for, KISC, is a mission school. The student body represents an internationally vibrant church and mission-sending community. I have students from every continent except Antarctica, with no obvious majority. There are also a number of non-mission, non-Christian students - mostly Nepali, who come for the Western education in hopes of enrolling in a Western university.
Most of the classes I teach are RE classes. I didn’t know RE was a subject until I came here either. RE is a part of the British curriculum. It stands for Religious Education, and it is maybe about the only possible thing I am qualified to teach. Each grade level has a period of Biblical studies worked into the curriculum, as well as subjects like world religions, theology, ethics, philosophy, and church history. I love it.
In October I was able to go with the 7th grade class, (Simon’s homeroom) on their class trip to Chitwan National Park. I was able to enjoy the much sought after experience of riding an elephant through the jungle. It was also a great time of getting to know the students and building trust with them. It is a scary thing to be responsible for 20 seventh-grade students in a land of rhinos and elephants, tigers and crocodiles, and a zillion possible illnesses.
Christmas break has now arrived. Simon and I felt that a good vacation was an appropriate idea. We decided to spend the last four days in Pokhara, the land that I love. We spent the first two days visiting and hanging out with Nepali friends. The last day, however, was to be purely vacation. We rented gas-powered scooters for the day and scooted our way from one lakeside to another. The Annapurna mountain range was showing off its gorgeous face all day long, and we scooted to quite a few incredible viewpoints. I was living on the wild side, having never really driven in Asia, or on the left side of the road. The best part is that the whole experience, scooter, gas, lunch and all, cost me about 10 bucks.
Yesterday was a long bus ride back to Kathmandu. Today it is New Years Day. I have a few more weeks of vacation, but I plan to use a bunch of it to prep lessons and plan assessments for next term. It has been a very blessed year. If this update has interested you so far, you must love me. I would assume that you would also enjoy a few photos.
Happy New Years!
Take care,
Wendy
One year ago in Minnesota.
London, summer 2011.
Simon's mom took us to a castle/stately home.
Simon's dad took us to a football game.
Simon's sister got us tickets to see Wicked.
Simon's brother took us out to central London.
Nepal 2011
KISC courtyard looking left. The building on the left is the gym/assembly hall.
Straight ahead is the office/meeting room/staff lounge/kitchen building. To the right is the main classroom building.
Right: main classroom building, left: reception office and upstairs is 11th and 12th grade lounge.
With the 7th grade students in Chitwan. We were spotting crocodiles along the river from the safety of our wooden canoe. I've never seen these kids sit so still and quiet!
A wild rhino that wandered up by our hotel.
Some of the students on an elephant.
Pokhara visit December 2011. When I met this guy he weighed 7 pounds. Now he has passed his first two tests in school!
Begining of our scooter adventure. Lake #1: Fewa.
Mid-way break to enjoy the view.
Scenic lunch break. Almost there!
But not in so much of a hurry that we wouldn't take the time to be serenaded by some very skilled Nepali folk, (dohori) musicians!
Success. Lake #2: Begnas!
I have many reasons to celebrate the New Year and I anticipate new blessings and changes, but I always tend to use this day to look back at the past year, and mark God’s faithfulness through it.
One year ago today I was able to celebrate the New Year with Simon and the Abrahamian family in Minnesota. It was snowy and cold, and we dropped 20-gallon bricks of ice off a balcony as our own ball dropping ceremony.
In the spring I graduated (finally) from Moody Bible Institute. Maybe a bachelor’s degree is not much in this new day and age when post-secondary education has almost become the standard, but I felt immensely privileged to be given that piece of paper. It was like carrying four years of studying, and working, and ministry, and friends in my hand and I felt unworthy to carry it. It is also only by God’s grace that I did not fail any classes or run out of money to pay for them.
In the summer I said my goodbyes to Chicago, and returned to Minnesota to spend time with my family and to earn some money. It was a good time of recovery from the stress of the last year of Moody, and a time of preparation for Nepal. In mid-July I said some more goodbyes, and hopped a plane for London. I spent two weeks in England with Simon and his family. We were in almost non-stop motion seeing places and meeting people. The day before our plane left again for Nepal, we were on the Southern coast of England at one of Simon’s friend’s weddings. We left at midnight after the wedding to arrive in London the next morning where Simon spoke in two services at church. We then packed our bags after lunch and caught an early-evening flight to Kathmandu!
In August I became a teacher. (Or started the long process of learning how to pretend to know how to teach). I think I was about as nervous that first week as I have ever been about anything. I didn’t know how to prepare for a class, or how to plan a lesson. I didn’t know the students or how many of them I would have or how they would behave. I spent much of the first few weeks trying to survive and make some sort of good first impression. I don’t know that I did so well. Many of the students learned quickly that I am soft, and don’t know any cool disciplinary tricks.
The school I am working for, KISC, is a mission school. The student body represents an internationally vibrant church and mission-sending community. I have students from every continent except Antarctica, with no obvious majority. There are also a number of non-mission, non-Christian students - mostly Nepali, who come for the Western education in hopes of enrolling in a Western university.
Most of the classes I teach are RE classes. I didn’t know RE was a subject until I came here either. RE is a part of the British curriculum. It stands for Religious Education, and it is maybe about the only possible thing I am qualified to teach. Each grade level has a period of Biblical studies worked into the curriculum, as well as subjects like world religions, theology, ethics, philosophy, and church history. I love it.
In October I was able to go with the 7th grade class, (Simon’s homeroom) on their class trip to Chitwan National Park. I was able to enjoy the much sought after experience of riding an elephant through the jungle. It was also a great time of getting to know the students and building trust with them. It is a scary thing to be responsible for 20 seventh-grade students in a land of rhinos and elephants, tigers and crocodiles, and a zillion possible illnesses.
Christmas break has now arrived. Simon and I felt that a good vacation was an appropriate idea. We decided to spend the last four days in Pokhara, the land that I love. We spent the first two days visiting and hanging out with Nepali friends. The last day, however, was to be purely vacation. We rented gas-powered scooters for the day and scooted our way from one lakeside to another. The Annapurna mountain range was showing off its gorgeous face all day long, and we scooted to quite a few incredible viewpoints. I was living on the wild side, having never really driven in Asia, or on the left side of the road. The best part is that the whole experience, scooter, gas, lunch and all, cost me about 10 bucks.
Yesterday was a long bus ride back to Kathmandu. Today it is New Years Day. I have a few more weeks of vacation, but I plan to use a bunch of it to prep lessons and plan assessments for next term. It has been a very blessed year. If this update has interested you so far, you must love me. I would assume that you would also enjoy a few photos.
Happy New Years!
Take care,
Wendy
One year ago in Minnesota.
London, summer 2011.
Simon's mom took us to a castle/stately home.
Simon's dad took us to a football game.
Simon's sister got us tickets to see Wicked.
Simon's brother took us out to central London.
Nepal 2011
KISC courtyard looking left. The building on the left is the gym/assembly hall.
Straight ahead is the office/meeting room/staff lounge/kitchen building. To the right is the main classroom building.
Right: main classroom building, left: reception office and upstairs is 11th and 12th grade lounge.
With the 7th grade students in Chitwan. We were spotting crocodiles along the river from the safety of our wooden canoe. I've never seen these kids sit so still and quiet!
A wild rhino that wandered up by our hotel.
Some of the students on an elephant.
Pokhara visit December 2011. When I met this guy he weighed 7 pounds. Now he has passed his first two tests in school!
Begining of our scooter adventure. Lake #1: Fewa.
Mid-way break to enjoy the view.
Scenic lunch break. Almost there!
But not in so much of a hurry that we wouldn't take the time to be serenaded by some very skilled Nepali folk, (dohori) musicians!
Success. Lake #2: Begnas!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Just kidding about the beer.
I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend to visit Anna for Easter. I got a ride with a very kind, young family I had not previously met. The Adults were probably in their late 30s, and they had two sons, 5 and 6 years old.
It was a family tradition of theirs to stop at the Cracker Barrel, a local family restaurant, so we did. On the way in the hostess asked the parents, "Three kids?"
I know I look young sometimes, but this was a bit extreme.
"No, just two" said the mother, a bit confused, to which the hostess replied; "It's ok, sometimes you have one who's an in-betweenie" and she proceeded to give me a kids menu and crayons!
So I colored a lovely picture and ordered a beer.
It was a family tradition of theirs to stop at the Cracker Barrel, a local family restaurant, so we did. On the way in the hostess asked the parents, "Three kids?"
I know I look young sometimes, but this was a bit extreme.
"No, just two" said the mother, a bit confused, to which the hostess replied; "It's ok, sometimes you have one who's an in-betweenie" and she proceeded to give me a kids menu and crayons!
So I colored a lovely picture and ordered a beer.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Hmm
"Ancient Israel was to be a community working under the economic principle of solidarity. Rich and poor were bound together. If the poor could not get out of poverty, the rich would eventually be involved in seeing things righted. It would be a bizarre anomaly in Israel for a member of the community to get so indebted as to become an indentured servant. How strange an ancient Israelite would consider the great American pastime whereby a family gathers around a game board, and the objective of the game is to obtain all of the property on the board, and then, after building houses and hotels, to charge your kin such exorbitant rent that each of them goes into financial ruin one by one!" -Scott Bessenecker
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Caffine for me, Glory for God
Coffee doesnt seem do do the same thing it used to for me anymore. I suppose that is when you know you've crossed the line into addiction. Maybe coffee beans are less potent when harvested around finals week? I realized today that I only have 22 days till my friends graduate, and I will be on a plane headed for S. Asia again. (I recieved my ticket in the mail yesterday!) So any of you who have committed to pray for me... I need to take you up on that.
Feelings about returning seem to evade me. Perhaps I am just on survival mode for the present, and haven't really been able to process anything. One thing I have learned is that stress is not from the Lord. It comes from my striving to be sucessful in whatever the venture, whether that be an internship in S. Asia, or making good grades, or building good friendships, or increasing financial stability. God is honored when I love and obey Him, whether I succede in my other ambitions or not, and ultimately the goal of my life is not success in these secondary things. So I am committed to let my soul find rest in God.
If you have the heart to pray for me, pray that I will obey and love my Lord all the way through these caffine saturated weeks, and ask Him to take care of me in the secondary categories of life.
Thanks beloved.
Feelings about returning seem to evade me. Perhaps I am just on survival mode for the present, and haven't really been able to process anything. One thing I have learned is that stress is not from the Lord. It comes from my striving to be sucessful in whatever the venture, whether that be an internship in S. Asia, or making good grades, or building good friendships, or increasing financial stability. God is honored when I love and obey Him, whether I succede in my other ambitions or not, and ultimately the goal of my life is not success in these secondary things. So I am committed to let my soul find rest in God.
If you have the heart to pray for me, pray that I will obey and love my Lord all the way through these caffine saturated weeks, and ask Him to take care of me in the secondary categories of life.
Thanks beloved.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
finals week!
It is midnight. I am in an odd mood.
Here is my quandary…
I am currently working on a formal exegesis of 1Timothy 2:11-15.
“A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be saved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
If I ever dig myself out of this pile of commentaries to come to a conclusion, I will indeed find myself within a theological paradox!
If I am to follow a redemptive-movement hermeneutic and claim that the spirit of this passage does not restrict women today from teaching with authority, I could never be sure that it wasn’t just my woman nature allowing me to be easily deceived by false teachers!
If I am to conclude that women cannot teach men, then I suppose I ought not turn my paper in for fear that my male professor might read it and be taught! Although if I conclude that women are easily deceived I should assume I am deceived in my understanding, thus proving that women are not easily deceived, and should be permitted to teach. 1.
I suppose it wont matter if I can just remain silent while writing the paper.
Just to be safe, I better get going on that childbearing.
Footnotes
1. Please realize that my authorial intent in this passage is humor and not an accurate portrayal of the views of any school of thought in regards to the egalitarian/complimentarian dialogue.
Here is my quandary…
I am currently working on a formal exegesis of 1Timothy 2:11-15.
“A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be saved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
If I ever dig myself out of this pile of commentaries to come to a conclusion, I will indeed find myself within a theological paradox!
If I am to follow a redemptive-movement hermeneutic and claim that the spirit of this passage does not restrict women today from teaching with authority, I could never be sure that it wasn’t just my woman nature allowing me to be easily deceived by false teachers!
If I am to conclude that women cannot teach men, then I suppose I ought not turn my paper in for fear that my male professor might read it and be taught! Although if I conclude that women are easily deceived I should assume I am deceived in my understanding, thus proving that women are not easily deceived, and should be permitted to teach. 1.
I suppose it wont matter if I can just remain silent while writing the paper.
Just to be safe, I better get going on that childbearing.
Footnotes
1. Please realize that my authorial intent in this passage is humor and not an accurate portrayal of the views of any school of thought in regards to the egalitarian/complimentarian dialogue.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Why teenaged boys need to shave
Hello friends! Thank you for your prayers for me through this transition time. I haven’t felt as compelled to write blogs lately since connecting in person has become much easier, but Doug Kraft keeps nudging me to write more. I got the day off today, so why not. As a general update; I am working a few jobs for the summer, goofing around with old friends, and getting ready to re-enroll for linguistics at Moody in the fall.
Since Nepal I have devoted life to planting flowers, moving rocks, and clipping shrubs, with a periodical peppering of pizza delivery. Many people have replied with pity when I tell them I am doing landscaping as summer work, but really it has been a fitting occupation for this spot in life. Digging and raking leaves me healthy and provides a lot of time for thinking and processing, and not to mention all the joys of sharing life with a handful of middle-aged, ex-alcoholic men. (Not even sarcasm). Having any job these days is a blessing in and of itself.
The question of the month has been; “What have you learned (/How have you grown) from your time in Nepal?” I still can’t figure out how to answer that. I made up a few excuses… Nepal did not cease to exist when I left, nor the people I lived with, nor the students, nor the pain, problems, poverty, joys, friendships. I am still living in the reality that “Nepal” continues to exist. I wake up in the morning wondering if Ayus (baby I lived with /watched grow for 8 months) has learned to talk yet, or if Sayoni will go through with her wedding next month, or whether someone went to talk to Raj about not beating the shit out of his kids this week. I still get frequent emails from those friends who have email, letting me in on daily life. So in a sense, the “experience” of Nepal is still actively affecting me.
The main difficulty I have in answering that question is that, though there was certainly learning, I am not sure Nepal was actually a time of “growth.”
We rolled up to another private estate that needed some hedge work. I got started on weeding the garden and clipping wild hairs from the euonymus while my boss, the guru of all things green, scoped the yard for any improvements he could make. He stared at a particular lilac for a while, chewing on some sort of decision. The bush was massive, big enough to house a few 7-year-olds with wood planks and hammers. It had huge branches with lots of flowers, but it was leggy and awkward looking with limbs stretching to the four winds. It didn’t fit right into the rest of the garden. I went back to the bush I was working on, taking out the little bits of dead wood and tips that grew in wrong directions. Later the boss called me over to help pick up debris. Where the lilac had been standing were only sticks. Its every single branch had been cut down to the stump. I asked Mike if we were going to dig it up and replace it. He said, “No, it will live! This thing has roots. It’ll grow back beautifully!” I had my doubts… it looked hacked, dead.
Trimming a tree usually just means take out dead, make it a little rounder, clean up the bottom… but an experienced gardener knows when and how far to cut back, even the good branches, to make it more what he has in mind for his garden. I see the months spent in Nepal as more of a trimming time for me. I went in with lots of passion, direction, hopes and plans. Now I am back, feeling a lot smaller, wounded, without clear direction or defining passion. (Not to say that missions or Nepal are out of the picture… I am already hoping to do my internship there next year). In truth, I do not feel like I grew this year… more like I shrunk, but my hope is in the Gardener, His wisdom and mercy.
Since Nepal I have devoted life to planting flowers, moving rocks, and clipping shrubs, with a periodical peppering of pizza delivery. Many people have replied with pity when I tell them I am doing landscaping as summer work, but really it has been a fitting occupation for this spot in life. Digging and raking leaves me healthy and provides a lot of time for thinking and processing, and not to mention all the joys of sharing life with a handful of middle-aged, ex-alcoholic men. (Not even sarcasm). Having any job these days is a blessing in and of itself.
The question of the month has been; “What have you learned (/How have you grown) from your time in Nepal?” I still can’t figure out how to answer that. I made up a few excuses… Nepal did not cease to exist when I left, nor the people I lived with, nor the students, nor the pain, problems, poverty, joys, friendships. I am still living in the reality that “Nepal” continues to exist. I wake up in the morning wondering if Ayus (baby I lived with /watched grow for 8 months) has learned to talk yet, or if Sayoni will go through with her wedding next month, or whether someone went to talk to Raj about not beating the shit out of his kids this week. I still get frequent emails from those friends who have email, letting me in on daily life. So in a sense, the “experience” of Nepal is still actively affecting me.
The main difficulty I have in answering that question is that, though there was certainly learning, I am not sure Nepal was actually a time of “growth.”
We rolled up to another private estate that needed some hedge work. I got started on weeding the garden and clipping wild hairs from the euonymus while my boss, the guru of all things green, scoped the yard for any improvements he could make. He stared at a particular lilac for a while, chewing on some sort of decision. The bush was massive, big enough to house a few 7-year-olds with wood planks and hammers. It had huge branches with lots of flowers, but it was leggy and awkward looking with limbs stretching to the four winds. It didn’t fit right into the rest of the garden. I went back to the bush I was working on, taking out the little bits of dead wood and tips that grew in wrong directions. Later the boss called me over to help pick up debris. Where the lilac had been standing were only sticks. Its every single branch had been cut down to the stump. I asked Mike if we were going to dig it up and replace it. He said, “No, it will live! This thing has roots. It’ll grow back beautifully!” I had my doubts… it looked hacked, dead.
Trimming a tree usually just means take out dead, make it a little rounder, clean up the bottom… but an experienced gardener knows when and how far to cut back, even the good branches, to make it more what he has in mind for his garden. I see the months spent in Nepal as more of a trimming time for me. I went in with lots of passion, direction, hopes and plans. Now I am back, feeling a lot smaller, wounded, without clear direction or defining passion. (Not to say that missions or Nepal are out of the picture… I am already hoping to do my internship there next year). In truth, I do not feel like I grew this year… more like I shrunk, but my hope is in the Gardener, His wisdom and mercy.
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