Immigration and Iraq

Laundry time! Yay clean clothes! and funky music that I'm listening to in here... hmm..

I'm almost done with classes, two of them have canceled what regular classes were left, so I only have... 3 left to go to. Until finals, that is. Then, hello office! Good news, I can bring books to read! I need a good reading list. I have a few...

I went to my policy & legis. class this morning, my professor told a story that made me so angry I couldn't pay attention for the rest of the class. Yup, I'm going to tell it to you. I've calmed down a little, so I think I can tell it now.

This story does not begin with "Once upon a time" because it is still happening.

A young soldier came home from the war (Iraq) recently, and my professor somehow knew him. He said his job in Iraq was to guard a street, make sure people came to a stop at the intersection, check their cars as they came by, etc. He had a machine gun, just in case. One day a car came through without coming to a stop. It was a man with four children, one an infant. His commander told him to shoot them down. He did. They're dead. The stop sign was in english. The young soldier now goes to counseling for nightmares.

Sad story number 2 (also told in my class this morning.)

What would you think of someone who kidnapped a people because of their nationality, locked them up in internment camps, threw them out in a different country, or who knows what else. They didn't take the children though. Guess the kids weren't considered dangerous enough. Know one really knew what happened to these people, those responsible for removing them wouldn't tell. The children are left without parents, or even a clue to where they might be. What would you think of people who would do that? Sounds like that movie, Apocalypto, or maybe Children of Men. Or barbarians hundreds of years ago.
But not now. Not America. Right?

My professor's wife teaches at an elementary school here. She said they've been having a few problems regarding the new illegal immigration policy. Here is the scenario:
The "illegal immigrants" move here so that they can get jobs, homes that aren't made out of cardboard, food, etc. They have kids. These kids are now citizens of the United States. They go to school. The government decides to get rid of illegal immigrants. They raid an area, take the illegal immigrants to who knows where (either an internment camp or somewhere in Mexico), while the kids are at school.

I'm going to a panel on our immigration policy tomorrow, several professors from NAU will be sharing. Dear God, what is happening? It scares me, to know that this is going on, and no one even knows. Or maybe they don't care. That might be even more sad.

DId you know that the illegal immigrants support our social security system? It would (will) collapse without them. They have to pay into it, but can't take out of it. Of course, that might not be a problem if our country didn't lead the world in military spending. Gotta keep those terrorists away, right? But if they're soooo worried about terrorists, they should probably start with American citizens cause we also lead the world in murder, addiction, (imperialism), etc.

And if they want to help people, maybe they should start at home. We have 40 million people wihtout health insurance, but we're spending 9 billion dollars a week in Iraq. Our minimum wage hadn't been raised in years, but our legislators found it more important to win an argument against the House than to get it raised.

Man, I guess I'm still a little upset. More people should be. But then, in a society where self is more important than others, why should anyone care? I hate capitalism. Ok I'm done. Doing my part to raise awareness, lol.

On a brighter note, here's some pics of me and rosanna at the dove....

Vendettas and Hippies

I was watching V for Vendetta tonight (good movie, not so dumbed down like most movies made now. Have you noticed that? I notice it when especially watching kid's shows, media is getting more dumb like they're trying to numb our brains. Seriously guys, maybe it's a conspiracy. Soon we'll all be like zombies walking around. Or maybe I think everything's part of a conspiracy to brainwash us cause I just watched that movie. I also think that movie, or the idea behind it, is the biggest thing keeping me from being a liberal. I'm not sure what I am. I'm a nothing. I'm a theocracist. I don't know if that's a word. I bet you forgot what this sentence was about.) and the main character, V, made a statement that caught my attention.

He said something about motives, or intentions. That what we hope to do is not what people see, not what we are remembered for. You cannot see hope, it is not a physical thing, unless put into action. Like faith, people cannot see my hope (unless they read my blog, I think) unless I am doing something to show it to them. I can have the best intentions, but if that is what they remain, what good is it? Not any.

It would be better to be stone cold than lukewarm. Be hot, or be cold, but don't linger on between the two. I am in the state of lingering. I don't know quite how to get out of it. That's the thing, though, with God. He calls us to little things, mostly. And little things, well, they're little. Hard to see through human eyes. Maybe I'm placing too much emphasis on big things. Maybe I'm missing out on the little things, which are the most important and so it si sad that they've become the least important.

My prayer should be for sight for the little things. New eyes. Little things and little people in each day.

My spirit has a yearning. I know the Lord is powerful and beyond comprehension. I know it takes more than a day to know Him. I know that what He sees and has for me goes beyond human ambition, whatever that may be for, education, money, someone to share my life with. I know that His ways are better than mine, that He sees my heart growth and all I see is growth in terms of my own ambition. I know all this. Sometimes.

And sometimes I wish our brains had sticky notes so I could write myself reminders.

I am going to work on that Lightening up thing, by the way.. at least include my fun stories more to balance out what my usual blog has become. It helps a lot to have this when I don't have people around me that I can unload onto, lol. Believe it or not *ahem* not everyone enjoys deep conversation topics. So, here I am, unloading on you, poor soul. Ah well.. self inflicted is it not?

I do have a story though, I don't think I wrote about this one, sorry if I did.

This is one of my roommates, the one getting married soon...

I went to Prescott with one of my roommates a couple weeks ago to have a sunday. We got coffee and sat at the courthouse and watched all the lovely people. There were couple walking their dogs... A couple of people wearing matching clothes and doing what looked like a mix between tai chi and circus performing. I think we decided they were in some sort of martial arts. It was fun to watch though.. Some people were carrying roses, and there were some lying on the benches. A group of about 10 hippies were at the corner of the park. When girl/woman came to the park one of them would give her a rose and tell her she was beautiful.

Isn't that a beautiful thing? So we got roses.. It made my day! It was so nice.. they were amazing. I wish I could've gotten to know them, but they left. I'll put up pictures sometime.. I lost my cord to my camera :(.. I'll find it.

See? I can lighten up.....

(This is the guy doing the tai chi or whatever... I was very sly and took a picture.)

stuff

Well, it seems like it's been a while since my last post. I've started classes since then. The weather has been frigid to say the least. Someone told me this morning that it's actually warmer in Alaska right now. Isn't it sad when you wish for 30 degree weather? It is when you live in Arizona. It has been below 0 in the mornings.. brrr!

Hey mom, here's that site I told you about for the Simpe Way.... http://www.thesimpleway.org/. For everyone else, the Simple Way is a community house/ministry in Philly. I learned about it in the book, the Irresistible Revolution, which is quite good. You should read it.



I'm taking a policy and legislation class for my major (social work), and it is surprisingly very interesting so far. I know, policy interesting? My prof also teaches religions classes (and he's a board member for one of our associations at work.. odd..), so he gives that perspective as well. He told us that many social work students come from evangelical christian backgrounds (which they do), and we all know that the majority of christian evangelicals in this country are right wing conservatives. This makes for a lot of conflict once you start to study social work, because most social workers are left wing liberals. I thought it interesting that he's talking about this, because I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

So, I hate the thought of giving the government more control than it already has, however, I think it's the only thing to do. it wasn't supposed to be that way. It's really the church's responsibility to take care of the poor and the oppressed. So the class is totally getting me fired up to go change the world. haha. I know, I can't change the world.. I can try though.

I don't remember what I was going to write about. that's probably good.. that means this is as long as it's going to get. I'm so tired... blehhhh.... ok have a good one...

kitchens and islam

Last night I walked through the door with arms full of groceries to find out that we have a kitchen! I was so excited, there may have been dancing… (after a few trips from the car bringing in all the groceries and nice clean clothes!)

So we have a kitchen, sink, cabinets, counters… mm… and I spent several hours putting stuff away (something I actually enjoy doing. It’s like therapy), and then put up some more Christmas lights ☺.

Sounds like a good evening, yes? But the best was getting to visit with a man and his wife from Niger (which I found out is pronounced nee-jhair) who were having a late Thanksgiving dinner with my Smith family. I came up for pie, and got to listen to Ahmadu talk about his culture and religion. He is Islamic, along with almost all of the rest of his country.

It amazes me to see how devoted they are, and how much respect they have for it. He only said the name Mohammad once, and he followed it with Peace be upon him. The other times he just referred to him as the Prophet. He never mentioned Allah, except to say that in his sect of the religion (Sunni), they do not believe in the prophets, but only in god. We sat and listened and questioned as he talked about their history and traditions.

At BSM a week ago we had a North Africa night (I got to wear a Punjabi), and one of the things Lainee told us was that as women in that culture it was viewed as suggestive to look at a man’s eyes. We tried to talk to the guys without making eye contact and it was so difficult.

One thing Ahmadu said was that in the temple, the women have to pray behind a veil, separated from the men, and that is to enable the men to focus solely on the prayers. Also, something I didn’t know, was that the women also cannot pray aloud, and that this is also to keep the men’s minds pure. I hadn’t ever thought about this in that way, but Randy mentioned that the bible also says that women are to keep silent (which I do think is meant to be kept in context). I hadn’t ever considered, though, that that might be the reason behind Paul writing that. I don’t know that it is, but it’s an interesting concept nonetheless.

The Islam and Sikh religions seem so close to Christianity, but still they’re so far. They are more devoted, which is a terrible thing, and they believe so strongly. Still, for all their devotion, they are missing out on everything that means anything. They don’t know the I AM, who is all holy and powerful, but also who is Love and Joy and Peace. They don’t know the Beloved Creator of their souls. They don’t see His love in the sky, or His beauty in the stars and flower, or His patience in the waves.

Yet even though I can see all this, I am not on my face before Him 5 times a day. I don’t know all of His words by memory. Just because I don’t have to. I should want to, and sometimes I do, but sometimes (most times) I live like the spoiled child I am, taking everything for granted.

And on that cheerful note, I have to go. Closing time ☺!

Yay for a new camera!! (I dropped my other one, and it would've cst more to fix it than get this one...)


Evelyn, the little girl Bethany watches.. also my old roommate's daughter...


Strider, at the shack one afternoon...


Me and Lauren at Fuzion, in our fancy suite at the Embassy... so nice! We had two rooms.. and a kitchen.. and the 'complimentary' breakfast, was made to order! ahem.. we saw the mafia there too.... cough cough...

Fuzion

Some pics of the park when it was done... Well, just got back from the conference, and now I'm sitting in the laundry place by Macy's, drinking a delicous soy chai/talking to the lady who owns the place.

The whole point of the conference for us was that we got to make a park for the city of El Mirage. It was the hardest work i think I've ever done in my life. I got a few good blisters :)... There is a christian landscaper who planned/organized almost everything. It wasn't a children's park, which I had expected, it was a nice landscaped area with a pathway. When we arrived in the morning it was a dirt lot. (It's a pretty good sized one too.) About 200 college students filed off the buses and off to work we went. I spent almost the entire morning shoveling gravel into wheelbarrows. We got a pretty good system going. It was hard work, but I loved it! My last post was kinda my frustration with my own laziness this last week, so this was perfect.


And this is Lainee takin a pic of the whole group...

We had about half an hour for lunch which Ralbertos catered for us (and I could eat it, thanks to Lainee who had them bring bean burritos :)), then we went back to work til 5 or 5:30. I shoveled more, scavenged for dirt clods, and learned all about drip lines. I even became one of the drip line nazis hehe... and I got a knife... oh yes. Lol, explanation: since we didn't have much (any) training in this, the drip lines were a little screwed up, they were too long and wouldn't have been watering the plants, so I went around fixing them.


And these are some of my fellow drip line nazis...


This is what I did most of the day. It was funny to watch wheelbarrows coming out of a cloud of dust!

It's so neat to watch people as they work. You know everyone's tired and ready to go (I was ready to go after about an hour lol), but there was no complaining, and people were very encouraging and optimistic.

We all had a good time that night, swimming and listening to amazing musicians play guitars by the fire, and of course some shakes at In n Out. It was a good trip, despite some things....

So today, I could barely move. Oh so sore. What a good workout! :)


Most of our group before we left on Sunday morning...

It's back to work tomorrow. It's always wierd to go back to a normal schedule after having been away. But first, i gotta tackle some dishes! Dirt beware! And may the Spirit of the Lord bless you and be with you.

50th post

I thought I'd share some of my favorite things with you for my 50th post...

1. My family...

2. chai tea (only the good stuff) group hug style, and a half breve double latte with one sugar in the raw mmmm!

3. the smell of leaves in the fall, playing in them, looking at them, crunching them... pine needles just aren't the same..

4. christmas stuff! the smells (christmas trees, gingerbread cookies, cinnamon...), the sights (the lights, the decorations, the happy faces, the snow!), the sounds (Michael W Smith's christmas music, caroling, the quietness of the world covered in snow, bells on sleighs) and the traditions (decorating the tree and drinking "christmas punch").. Oh I do love Christmastime!

5. Along with that one, I love ice skating.. it's almost like swinging to me (I love swinging too, best form of therapy!)..

6. Rainy camping trips in Colorado. Hiking in the rain to the waterfalls.. sitting in a hammock for hours with a book.. hobo stew.. crazy gypsies singing songs... the mountain pass roads.. ice cream in Lake City.. sheep everywhere.. wildflowers too.

7. Good books. Favorites: David Copperfield, Persuasion, Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women, Lord of the Rings, Peter Pan, and Blue Like Jazz. (the Bible was a given..) These are best read on a chair by a fireplace with a handful of gingersnaps ;)..

8. Sleeping outside under the stars! with lots and lots of blankets and good conversations.

9. Little kids. I love little kids! One of the best things in the world is holding a child, it makes everything ok. I miss my million hugs a day at the preschool! They are so very special, those little ones..

10. My dad's voice. Playing guitar by a fire and singing hymns.. Bursting into song on Sunday mornings.. the Christmas song every Christmas eve... the most comforting sound in the world.

11. Laughing ourselves silly at the dinner table (poor dad) over little things and memories.

12. Candles! Don't know why, I just like them a lot.

13. Scarves. I like those a lot too. And sweaters.. warm and oh so soft! and mittens when the steering wheel is cold. and warm socks! and fireplaces.. and hot chocolate.. and I'm kinda cold right now... hmm

14. Soft pretzels. So hard to resist! I'd much rather have a pretzel than chocolate. But then, I can't say I love chocolate all the much, so maybe that's not a good comparison. It would've sounded good if I hadn't just said all that. But I did. Now you know my secret. I really do like pretzels though. A lot.

15. The sky.. it fascinates me. It's always a reminder to me of the One who sees me.. Especially on days when there's not a cloud in sight! Or there are clouds, and they're big and fluffy. Or at night when the stars are out.

16. Good music. Different music for different moods. Laid back, relax, beautiful days: Rich Mullins, Brandon Heath, Jack Johnson, etc. Crazy, energetic, hot days: Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard, Blindside, Flyleaf, etc. Barlowgirl, Bethany Dillon, and Sara Groves for some encouragement and rejuvenation. Worship music: Enter the Worship Circle, Jars of Clay (1st cd), David Crowder, and Michael Gungor. Country and disney on road trips. Billie Holiday, Ella, Bing Crosby, and Rosemary Clooney for oldies. Tchaichovsky and Saint Saens for classical. And then of course, MWS and Amy Grant for christmas. Then last, but not least, Devo for anytime haha! whip it good!

17. Pick-a-nicks. At Buckskinner on friday afternoons. French bread, string cheese, capri suns and apples. Good times.

18. Gentlemen. Opening doors for girls, being respectful (RESPECT lol), etc.

19. Singing 'Ain't no mountain high' into a hairbrush first thing in the morning. yes, my roomie thinks I'm crazy. but, she gets some laughs, and what better way to start the morning??

20. Random road trips. Whether it be to Jerome, the courthouse in Prescott, or In n Out at midnight, or up Bill Williams to watch the sunrise. Still planning the sunset trip to sunset point.

21. People watching at Macy's. And soy chai's... and hummus sandwiches... mmm

22. You've Got Mail with my mom. mossy...

23. Cherry Limades from Braum's. very tasty. so's the ice cream. first stop we make every year on our way to Oklahoma. (where the wind comes sweeping down the plain)

24. Finding clothes at Savers. It's like a treasure hunt... so exciting...

25. My trail up the mountain. (yes, it is mine. I claim it. well, Emma may claim some of it too...) Running down it and singing songs. makes for an interesting picture haha. or skipping down it with Jimi...

26. Cleaning. I know, wierd eh? But I do, I like it. My apartment's a mess right now though.. bleh... oh well.

27. Watching people do what God made them to love doing. Whether it be music, teaching, making people laugh, whatever. Their eyes light up, and you can see the excitment and joy building up.

28. Talking until 2 at the Place, while drinking hot chocolate and eating a big breakfast for 3 dollars. that, is exciting.

29. Playing music. By myself, or with other people, especially when my fingers are right. Just got music from the Man from Snowy River.. I love that song.. with out the music the movie would be nothing. Well, ok the horse going down the mountain was pretty amazing I guess ;)

30. Football. playing it I mean. I watch it every once in a while. For about 5 minutes. Then I get frustrated because they only play for about 2 seconds and then they take 3 minutes to line back up. And they get paid a kajillion dollars to push guys around. What do we pay our teachers? yea, yea, sad huh? *stepping down from soap box, and what is that in my eye??? lol*

31. Making cappuccinos in clear glasses. It's all about the fancy layers... how many can you get?

32. Taco Tuesday!! only I'm a vegetarian now.. but someday, I will once again enjoy the taste of 3 tacos for a dollar.

33. Not writing about 50 things I like..

34. Home cooked food. Oh I love it! huh.. it feels like a lot of these have been about food. or maybe I'm just thinking a lot about food. or maybe it's almost-ish thanksgiving.

35. spinning in circles with Kristen on thursday nights after bible study.

36. fingerpainting with erin and konnie... hehe.. messy...

37. naptime! I looove naptime! oh yes...

38. henna. huh.. i think our henna party was supposed to be today.. oops..

39. parades in Williams (can't miss the Dancing Grannies!) with about 50 tractors. going about 2 mph. thrills galore.

40. white water rafting, especially with lots of rafts, water fight! *scary dun dun dunnn music*

41. the ocean. I love watching the ocean. Most places I've been to it have been cold, so I usually just watch it lol. such a girl, I know. I like being warm though. Don't judge me.

42. snowy walks at night, especially when the sky is orange and the clouds are low. It's like being in a snow globe, only better. this year we're going to go swing on the first night it snows.

43. swing dancing with someone who knows how, cause I don't lol.. brad taught us once, but I don't remember half the moves.. The guy is really the one who needs to know them though.

44. being almost done with this post.....

45. grilled cheese sandwiches made with an iron.

46. roller coasters.

47. lilacs, they're my favorite.

48. long drives

49. uhhhhh

50. the One who sees me! :)