Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Back in Belize...

Yup, back in Belize for Praying Pelican's last trip this summer. We're working in Belize City this week with Pastor Lloyd, who ironically keeps trying to send me to Cancun... I love that guy! But no worries, Pfingsten brothers, I am in Belize City. I got this great shot of the good pastor as he talked on his cell phone in the middle of a busy downtown Belize City street... But interesting internet connection in our favorite PPM "home away from home," the Global Village, is not letting me post it; I'll get it on another time. It's been amazing to continue to renew and make new connections; I've gotten to be reacquainted with Keith's family from two years ago, who came out from Belize City to minister with us in Democracia. Kecia and Kedel are almost all grown up, sort of, and I've gotten to meet their little sister, Kia.

Pastor Cecil from Democracia was in the city today working on various projects, and amazing news Lakeview Crew, Frank Clark rededicated his life to Christ last week!! Praise God for answered prayers!! As you can imagine, Pastors Lloyd and Cecil are beside themselves with excitement for what this means for that small village; Frank and his wife Myrtle are pillars in that community, so to have Frank back on board not only means a significant change in his own spiritual life, but also in the village's.

Not going to write too long today, gotta get back to work... Besides if you all continue to refuse to comment on either Mike or I's entries, we might just give this up!! I have the sneaking suspicion that there are actually people reading this, but who would know?

Thanks again to all our friends and family who helped Mike move this weekend, for your patience and support; we love all of you so much!!!

Monday, August 28, 2006

Moving and Orientation

I forgot how much moving sucks. We completely filled Meg's and I new apartment with boxes, and I've been trying to swim out.

Moving is a big ordeal for anyone; it's even bigger when U-Haul makes it harder. I got a call on last week from U-haul that they did not have any trucks in Duluth, but had one in Cloquet. Fine, I say...not a big deal, even though Cloquet is 1/2 hour away. I had to pick a truck up for Minneapolis in Mankato once, so not a surprise considering it is peak moving season. So I show up in Cloquet to find that the truck and tow-dolly are both damaged and unusable. Not only that, but the blankets I reserved were also not there for me, at no fault of the Cloquet U-haul guy. Apparently he put out some work orders on the truck and dolly, but the service tech never came, even though they knew I had reserved it. He calls HQ, peeved, and they tell him that there is a truck available in Grand Rapids or Hibbing, both 1 1/2 hour + away! I am starting to think I will be moving mid-week instead on Sunday. Meanwhile, people that I have arranged to move with in Duluth at 11:00, have been waiting for 30+ minutes with no Mike in sight. So I decide to check out a 14' truck in Duluth to see if it is big enough to put all of our stuff in, which is laughable because we completely filled a 10x20' storage unit. So back in Duluth, I ask the U-haul guys if they have a 24' truck available...and they did...a 27' truck. They were fixing it because apparently the battery was draining. But because I was doing a one-way move, I didn't see why it wouldn't work. So, they gave me the truck, and life was good. Special thanks for the Svoblog and the Knuth family for hauling stuff into the trailer! Matt P was also at the scene, but had to do pre-baby activities in the afternoon on Sunday; plus he waited for over 30 minutes for me to show up at 11:00.

Later, in the Twin Cities, my uncle Scott, Grandpa, my Mom and Dad, and Jason P, helped me unload the truck. My grandpa is a workhorse! He's 80+ yrs old, and has a prosthetic knee, but he was hauling all the heavy stuff with the rest of us! So after 3 hours of heavy lifting, we decided to call it a night.

So this morning, I show up for pharmacy orientation. I was pretty pleased with myself, because I was 45 minutes early...only to find out it starts tomorrow. So I was 24+ hrs early. Shows that you should read your emails VERY carefully. So looking like an idiot, I walked out of the pharmacy office with my tail between my legs. Oh well...at least I got my bus pass.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Why yes, I'm a award winning brewer...*update*

The Burninator strikes again!

So I'm quitting pharmacy school, to persue brewing...

Just kidding. I entered one horse in the race at the state fair, my double IPA. Check out the unofficial results here; the MN state fair still hasn't offically posted the resuts, but you can watch for them here.

Well I didn't win best of show, but I still walked away with a gold medal IPA. Not bad for the first try ;)

The McGurfer reunion, minus a few McGrails...

So many of you who read this probably already know who the Furlers are, but for those of you who don't, let me give you a little history. My dad and Alan Furler (dad Furler) started working together when we lived in Glens Falls, NY before I was born. They ended up with three daughters when all was said and done, and we with four, all of us around the same ages. So I've know this family from the womb. Our families both got transferred to St. Louis, MO with our dads' jobs, stayed there a couple of years; then Al found a job back in NJ, hired my dad, and we all moved back to the east coast together. It's only been since my parents moved to MN in '96 that we have not lived in the same vacinity as the Furlers.

We have grown up with them, quite literally, spending almost as much time at their house than our own. Sue (mom Furler) was always our emergency contact, and the mom
that picked me up from school and let me stay on the couch when I sprained my ankle. She was the mom that let us play with play-dough whenever we wanted, in fact we should take it home with us to our house (so that she would never have to deal with it again, giving my mom the duty to tell us no to messy creativity). Sue has always made the best cinnamin toast, always sent me into the store on the way home from school to grab her a snickers, and taught me that less is more when it comes to make-up.


And then there are the sisters. Laura, the oldest of the McGurfers (smoosh McGrail and Furler together=McGurfer), was our mom figure; she rode me around when I was too small to reach the petals on a bike on the back of their tandem so that I could play bike tag with the big kids, she was brave enough to play Miss Hannigen when we played Annie in our basement, and hers was the first wedding I ever participated in; she trusted Kate and I to sing at the time in life when I was so terrified to be in front of people that I burst into tears at the mere thought of it.

Sarah is closest to me in age, three years older than I, and we've been friends longer than I can remember. She and I slept over together in her daybed several days in a row, played King's Quest to all hours of the night and into the morning,
she even forgave me when I crushed on of her favorite china animals when we were playing leggos. And she was the only bridesmaid in my wedding not blood-related to either Mike or I. Sarah and I don't talk or communicate regularly, even often, but I've decided we have the best kind of friendship I could ever ask for; we never feel bad if we haven't talked or spent time recently, we merely pick up where we left off. Sarah and I have so much history that we always have plenty to reminisce about, but we are involved enough now in each other's lives to continue caring and loving each other where we are at.

And then there's Em. She's a little younger than Kate, and she and Kate have always been close, but it's been amazing how as we "grow up," we grow closer. Age matters less and less. Now Em is my other little sister, she's the one that I sit at the breakfast table with now and talk about anything and everything, things past, things present. Em has always amazed me with her unrelenting and unwaivering faith; she has trusted Jesus like few others I have ever encountered, and she lets everyone know it. I want to be a bit more like Em when it comes to sharing my faith.

Last summer, Em married Logan in Cape May, NJ. As all the McGurfers gathered, I was struck by the notion that we were running out of weddings; we needed to find another reason to get together. In typical Meg-fashion, I blurted this out, saying that I would plan something... Yeah, and I really followed thru on that. Fortunately, Sue and Al know me better than I know myself, and they graciously included us in their family trip. So Mom, Dad, and I joined Sue and Al, Laura and Corbette, Sarah and Kyle, Em and Logan, and Aunt Lynn, Uncle Bob, and cousins Ben and Ethan in Durango, CO. We McGrails were only able to stay a few days (Mom and Dad had to transport me back to MN so I could fly back to Belize today), so we were extremely sad to say goodbye so quickly, but so grateful for the time to spend with our extended family.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

A Moment with Oz...

As Mike and I face various decisions in the immediate future, what job to take or not take, what apartment to live in or not live in, where do we go or not go, I find myself much more fearful than I would chose to admit. I tell people that I am okay with change, and I am for the most part, but I do always wonder. It's what wakes me early on a Saturday and doesn't allow me to fall back asleep. So I read...

"The Theology of Rest"
(from Oswald Chambers', My Utmost for His Highest, August 12)

"Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26)

"When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones. Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who do not know God. We get to our wits' end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him and His government of the world; He seems to be alseep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead.

'Oh ye of little faith!' What a pang must have shot through the disciples-- 'Missed it again!' And what a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead.

Ther are stages in life when there is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him.

We have been talking a great deal about sactification-- what is it all going to amount to? It should work out into rest in God which means oneness with God, a oneness which will make us not only blameless in His sight, but a deep joy to Him."

Thursday, August 10, 2006

My other nephew...


So I mentioned back in July that my sweet friend Kayla had a baby boy, Conner! This past weekend, after a long day of apartment hunting, I had the chance to go meet the little guy. And he's so great! How amazing to me that God not only granted me one nephew in Finn, but another, hopefully I can really be honorary auntie, in Conner.

I am awed by how Kayla too has slipped so gracefully into this mom role. Both she and Kate seem so sure of themselves, so at home and perfectly natural with their little guys in their arms. I guess this is what you call "maternal instinct," but I don't think this is always the case. I have seen women who don't pull this off with such distinction, but both K & K seem perfectly at ease and confident. As they sooth and coo at Finn and Conner, I am soothed and calmed; the environment is contagious. And for a moment I forget the anxiety of not yet being a mom, of worrying that when that time does come, I won't slip into the role so smoothly, that even my inexperienced presence might break the spell of warmth and welcome that hovers over moms.


I've said before that I love pregnant women. But I must rephrase: I love moms. I love expectant mothers, new mothers, old mothers, and everything inbetween. There is something so blessed about parenthood, that I have yet to taste, but I've smelled it. And like the scent of fresh baked bread on the Belizean breeze, I want to be as close to the source of that scent as possible, to bask in the natural beams of moms... Though I'm not sure I'll be tasting in the immediate future; sorry to disappoint, Mom McGrail and Mom Schroeder!

Gumball and Mo...

So I'm a college graduate, and by day I'm a missionary, but often nights you can find me at the Gap. No, I'm not a shop-a-holic, though I do shop more now than I did, but now with discounts: I work at the Gap. And though I find my job with Praying Pelicans very rewarding, I really do love working at the Gap. I love the people I work with, I love helping people, even if it is only to spend their money. But as I sit in my office alone all day, I get kinda excited about going and hanging out with people.


Last night, I spent the evening with Marissa ("Mo") and Megan ("Gumball")pictured here. And Sue B., but she left early. I really like Gumball and Mo. They're fun, funny, and just nice to be around. We're a little goofy, can get our jobs done, we don't bug each other, unless it's on purpose, and I just really enjoy their company. Mo is working on her masters in speech pathology (yeah Sarah Tanis!) and is getting married in 3 weeks to another Mike; another M & M. And Gumball returned from spending last fall in England studying abroad and is dating Kevin who will be working on his uncle's farm this fall until he starts training the be a police officer.


I'm amazed at how and where we meet the people we choose to hang with, but I'm grateful all the same. Mike and I are moving to the Cities shortly. And I will miss my Gap family. I think I will transfer to another Gap, but I think it won't be the same. There will be no Mo, no Gumball, no new mom named Kara, no Rick, no Wendy, no Sue V. or Sue B. Maybe there will be new friends. But I'll miss these ones...

Friday, August 04, 2006

Faith like a child...

So my boss told me to go home early today; who's boss tells them that on a beautiful Friday afternoon? Honestly. But as I thought about it, I realized I didn't have enough time to really go do anything before I have to be at my other job, and in looking through some of our pictures from Belize this summer, I realize there are still many stories that need sharing. And since I don't have 18 straight hours to sit and talk with most of you, I'll tell you some of these neat moments in a few installments.


This first one is about this little guy. As you can see, he's covered in varying shades of magic marker. I am distressed to admit that I have already fogotten his name; I know I hung around with a Mikey that week (another one in addition to the one I'm married to) so we'll call this guy Mikey, and if any of you from the Asbury trip happen to remember this guy's name, I'd love to know it. This little man is from Valley Community, a little village about a 45 minute drive up the Hummingbird Highway from Dangriga. He's about three, and in the first moments I hung out with him, he clung tightly to his older sister, but I could tell she was looking for someone to watch him so that she could delve into the various VBS delights that were happening around us. She happened to catch my eye and took that as an invitation to leave him with me. No problem, who can resist such a face?

Mikey's a little young to be working on the "stained glass" butterfly that his sister was working on, sticking all colors of tissue paper to a cut-out butterfly shape covered in transparent contact paper, so we found him some paper and a few markers, and he went to town. We soon discovered that the beloved overhead fans were causing a bit of a problem with all the wispy pieces of tissue paper, so they were shut off. The heat wasn't horrible that day, but the bugs, with no breeze to blow them away, started to find us. In the Valley, there are these horrible bugs, only about the size of gnats, that they call sand flies; one Belizean informed me that these tiny monsters don't actually bite, they just rip chunks of flesh from you, leaving a little spot of blood trickling down your leg, and then about 12 hours later, the most irritatingly itchy welt I've ever experienced.


These horrible insects started going after Mikey shortly after the fans were turned off. This great kid, so focused on his scribbles, merely wiped them away, concentrating on the piece of paper in front of him. As he selected colors from me, ripping the tops off the markers, handing the tops back to me, doodling away, then taking the tops back, pushing these caps into place, returning the marker, and starting the process over again, he missed caps, smearing ink all over his hands. In addition, as he wiped the flies away, sometimes he would still have an uncovered marker in his hand, or even if he didn't, the ink from his covered hands transferred to various areas on his ears, face, neck, and head. By the end of craft time, he was covered in all colors, and I loved him all the more for it. He'd look up at me asking with his eyes what I thought of the colors on his masterpiece, and trying so hard not to giggle at the ink smeared across his eyelids, I'd encourage him to keep coloring, that it only got better and better as he continued to color. That I loved the meaningless scribbles, that he was great and an extremely talented artist.

As I thought about Mikey the rest of that day, I had a revelation. A child-like faith... Mikey was so focused on that paper in front of him and my approval, that he noticed not the bugs, the lack of moving air, or the ink covering his face. ...Maybe this is what Jesus meant by having a child-like faith, faith like a child, to be so innocently focused on the Father and His will, that we would notice nothing else but the tasks He places before us and His approval. I want to be like Mikey, covered in the colors of this world, maybe with a few bites along the way, but working ever so diligently after the desires of my Savior's heart, seeking only His love and affection

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Windsor Tribune Article

Here's an article from the Windsor Tribune in Colorado with the first group we took down in the summer; Brittney had it posted on her blog.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Our new Duluth Family...

I'm back again. Still working thru the stuff from the summer, and I realized I titled my last entry about the RV and the Knuths and then didn't mention anything about either. So here's what's happening...

It's been great being "home" so far; we've parked Mom and Dad McGrail's recreational vehicle in the backyard of one of our favorite Duluthian families, the Knuths. Kim and Mike (mom and dad Knuth) are a great couple, perfect combination of laid-back and fun, and so hospitable and welcoming. Mike is a fellow scientist, so my Mike and he are two peas in a pod. And Kim is great, a little mom-ish, which is greatly appreciated being so far from my own Mom, always making sure I have something to eat, that we're included in anything that we want to be involved in, and always invited to dinner or their fridge. But more than that, she's just a great friend; I enjoy our evenings in the living room when it rains or on the back porch when it doesn't.

Then there's Sarah and Steve (brother and sister Knuth). I've told you about Sarah a little earlier; she, Kristin, and Kayla are "my girls" from the youth group. We occassionally have small group/bible study, and more often just enjoy each other, laughing, watching movies, grabbing cheap apps during happy hour at Applebee's. I love Sarah; she's a bit of everything that I wanted or wished I had been in high school. She's involved, but not over-committed...usually. She's steeped in her faith, one of the most committed Christians at her age, or maybe any age, of most I've encountered. She laughs, works hard, plays hard, values her friends and family, dabbles in a few sports, and is generally stable most of the time, making her an excellent friend or partner in crime. She knows who she is and stands firm and comfortably there.

Steve is about to start high school. And he's the little brother or guy friend that every girl should have. He's funny and a little awkward, cool without knowing it, and really genuinely cares about the people around him. Though he wouldn't admit it, he respects his parents, looks up to his big sister (and big brother, Thomas, away at school), and unlike many adolecent males I've encountered, generally has a very good head on his shoulders. Plus, I think he's going to be really fun to watch on the football field.

I don't like everything about us Christians; I've seen a lot of great and not-so-great qualities over the years, in secular venues, in Mike and I's conservative alma mater, in ministry, and now internationally. But the one thing I truly value, that at its best is one of the most amazing parts of being a Christian, is being part of the family. I've loved to see how even across boarders, we as brothers and sisters in Christ have a bond strong enough to cause us to reach out to complete strangers, to take in and take care of the other people in our family. That when we recognize, or think we recognize that softness of spirit, that non-blood relationship, we take them as blood relatives. And I guess we are, just not the blood of our parents, but rather of our Savior. I've been cared for by the Jansons, the Knuths, Hilda and Hesse in Crooked Tree, Cecelio and Desol in Santa Elena, Brenda in La Democracia, Suzan and Roy in Belmopan, Pastor Lloyd and Nancy in Belize City, Pastor Elvis, Geraldine, Diana, Marta, and Reuben in Village Community, Pastor Caleb, Barbara, Lorraine, and Emmogene in Dangriga, not to mention the countless team members from CO, CA, WI, MN, TX, NC, OH, and WA.

I love that this family cares for me and that I have the opportunity to care for them. Kim Knuth, after letting me know that it was okay for us to park in their backyard way back in May, said that more people should take advantage of help when it's offered. And my friend Amy always says "ask for what you need and give what you can." So simple, yet why are we so prideful to think that we need to do everything on our own? I am eternally grateful for all of you, and look forward for future situations when I can serve you, serve with you, or be served by you. Thank you!