Write_On Campaign

Writing 30 letters was harder than I thought. My can-do attitude started fading around the 15th but each time I pushed myself to write a letter, I was met with a feeling of accomplishment that carried me through to the next day. To those I wrote letters to: I have no recollection of what I wrote you. I may remember snippets of questions I asked about your lives but as for what I reported about my own - tis a blur. There's a reason people made carbon copies when letter-writing was the main mode of communication.

If you participated in Write_On, I'd love to know what ideas and thoughts you had when it was over. Here are my finishing thoughts on Write_On.

• I don't have enough cute stationery to carry me through a whole month without boring myself. Next year I shall stock up on all the cute envelopes & cards I can find!
• I'm not fascinating enough to write others about my own life. Thank goodness for the Write_On writing prompts!
• USPS stamps are too precious. Parting with some of them was difficult and even though I had plenty of stamps, I ended up buying several more sheets because I love variation.
• Sometimes a postcard is all you can swing that day, and that's perfectly A-OK.
• Receiving a letter was much, much more fun than sending one.
• Don't get too fancy with your lettering or it will be lost in the mail for two weeks and then return to you worn & written on. The postage shorthand was "AAK." Which is probably the sound they made when they tried to read it. I've learned my lesson.

Oklahoma City Trip

We celebrated our two-year anniversary on April 28. Last year, we went on a mini-vacation to Eureka Springs for our anniversary and ate Czech food and went to Crystal Bridges Art Museum. It was awesome. And this year, we decided to celebrate by serving a really great ministry in Oklahoma City.

Last fall, we participated in the Perspectives course held at our church and we got to hear from and meet amazing missionaries & speakers from around the world. Jamie Zumwalt was one of the last speakers and was one of the most well-spoken, heart-touching, age-defying people I have ever listened to. My friend & I bought her book and I read it at the beginning of this year. It really left an impression on me. So when Jacob suggested we go serve in her coffee shop, Joe's Addiction, for our anniversary, I was totally down for that. And my excitement increased when Jacob told her I could paint and she told us they could totally use a fresh coat of paint. God is good like that - he will utilize what you can do for what He wants done.

Joe's Addiction is nestled between strip clubs and an adult superstore in Oklahoma City, OK. They were intentional when they started this coffee shop. And from the looks of it, they are invaluable to the community in that area. They provide a food pantry, free clothing store, and meeting space for NA/AA meetings. They are also a haven and source of grace for many who need it. Being around them for just a weekend was humbling and inspiring as they hang out with the "tax collectors & sinners," so to speak.

We picked up our paint the night before and got there bright and early to start sanding, scraping and painting. I had their coffee. It's good. I had their chai tea. Twice. It's good.

During a church service a while back, someone spray painted some nasty language on the back of their building and a member of the church sprang to the rescue to cover it up quickly. So, we kept the message, changed the appearance.

The free store & boutique also got a bit of a facelift. Though the next time we're there, I would love to give the whole storefront a fresh coat of paint.

And finally, The Kitchen Table got an upgrade, as well. This is where the bulk of our time was spent and my husband patiently and carefully worked on edging and sanding of this wall. After about 10 hours of work - we knocked out three out of the six proposed spaces we could paint on! Next time we head back to OKC, we'll allot more time to work on their building. We're hopeful that we could possibly get a team together of able people - those who have important skills such as air conditioner repair, drywalling, plumbing, handyman skills, etc. If you're interested, let me know!

Updates!

1. I'm reading Harry Potter and it is the absolute best. I am currently on the Half-Blood Prince. I have not seen any of the movies so I plan on watching all of them after I'm done reading the series. But I never want to be done reading the series. I want it to go on and on, forever and ever.

2. Jacob and I are both returning the Czech Republic this year! Surprise, surprise, I'm sure you may be saying. Nonetheless, I thought you should know. If you would like to receive a support letter for my trip this year, please shoot me an email, or you can donate funds here. Thanks so much! If you want to read more about past trips, you can read the posts here.

And for my next post - all about the secret-theme bridal shower I've been planning. It's all going down on Saturday and I can't wait to share what I've been working on. Until then, peace out girl scout.