Loads of Learning anyone?

Well,
I am accustomed to thinking lots and often,
but there are just SO many new things and places and people and dynamics and lessons to experience here.

For one, blasted city driving--no wonder everyone is so stressed out here!! It's a shenanigan to get ANYWHERE. And nothing is "just down the street." I stop and go and stop and go and get lost and turn around and get distracted and miss the turn and stop and go, and then I'm finally out of the parking lot. Needless to say, I take it pretty slow : )

For two, I completely dig diversity--it is so refreshing to be around so many different colors, languages, and cultures.  I am enjoying being able to have loving and mature conversations about those differences with people that I learn from. I have a renewed desire to never deny my white-privilege and to make strides in actively fighting discrimination.

I am reminded of this diversity when I dig in the dirt. At first, you think, "oh yeah, big deal. It's just dirt, it just looks....dirt-y." But with a closer look, all the differences in soil, rock, random items that may or may not belong, and insects bring a reality of diversity. These variations make up what the soil is, and it would be different if one part were missing.
A simple metaphor that makes me appreciate and treasure differences.
(If in reading this you have been reminded that you haven't had an interaction with someone different than your norm for a while, I encourage you to challenge yourself. Visit a new restaurant or church or festival!)


Onto the part that makes my big heart beat a little quicker...
Making a garden work in a tough place like the Badlands is not only possible and probable, but is being done!
And my head runs wild with all the possibilities that I hope to implement one day:
**serious rain water gathering (it is dry like crazy then all the sudden rains for days) in natural low places, off roofs, and creating catching places.
**raised, no till beds (a layer of cardboard to stop weeds and retain water, 4 inches of leaf mulch, 1 inch of ash, 2 inches of compost/soil) done on the ground, in tires and wooden boxes-really, anything with at least 6-10 inches of depth. A 4x4 bed utilizing square-foot techniques should be able to produce enough for one person per year.
**Keyhole gardening!!! This is a HUGE resource in sustainability. It begins with a metal trash can that has been poked through with several holes. Around the can, layers of dirt, rocks, ash, straw, compost, etc. are built up in an oval as high as possible with an "entrance" to the can left clear. The can is used for composting organic material (veggie and fruit scraps, most paper, manure, leaves, etc.).  With all these components together, a space and cost effective garden is made! Worms spread the nutrients and rocks help retain moisture in the soil, even in dry places (like Pine Ridge!). The keyhole garden can produce for up to 16 people every year!

I am excited to learn about these very practical and effective ways of helping people eat well anywhere I go.
It is hard that food desserts in urban areas really have been created.
So many of our health issues are because of the continual shock our bodies go through from the things we consume (imagine pouring chemicals on a plant potted in styrofoam-we would think it a miracle if it actually thrived, let alone, survived! And yet, we expect out bodies to perform and endure whilst we consume everything but the unrefined vegetation we were made for! Okay, soap box ended-call me selfish, I just want YOU around for a long, long time!).
And it becomes a very complex issue when people are trying to pay bills with minimum wage (or less) jobs and can just never quite catch up enough to be able to afford fresh, nutritious food. Which then leads to long-term illnesses leading to more expenses. And quickly, people are living oppressed in vicious cycles.
I hope to use my knowledge to intervene in these cycles.

So,
A list of things I love and hate, you can discern between the two for yourself:
-City plots that look real green that are probably actually bulldozed piles of house rubble covered with a layer of topsoil enough to grow grass
-Learning how to build a fire and cooking on it, right in the middle of a crazy, trafficky, urban scene
-Principles of Permaculture
-great letters from a great best friend, and all letters from all friends, of course
-unexpected phone calls with a great best friend
-farmers markets
-poison ivy (yes, I got into some and it broke out on my neck and arm and the middle of my back, for the love of Pete! I learned about it though-you do break out where the oil touches your skin, the thinnest places first, but then your lymphatic system picks it up and carries it causing your immune system to react which causes the days, even weeks, of breakouts in random places! Ahhh! I've been using WitchHazel, and I've heard tea tree oil too)
-close-to-daily bike rides with my Baby (she's a Specialized Crossroads!)
-Rebel, the cream kitten that sits on my lap for meals at the garden (shhhh...don't tell my mama, but I might sneak him home with me come August : )
 -officially graduating as an official CASA volunteer, officially
-placing 2nd in the "Driving Miss Daisy heat" during the Summer Staff Challenge on 40mph go-karts in real jumpsuits and real helmets having signed a real waiver
-sharing lunch breaks outside of the cubicle in the sunshine beside a man-made pond with Creator-made geese
-my mama coming to visit me tomorrow!

So, there is plenty going on up here. I am still humbled to be in the midst of it all, and am enjoying getting to know so many different people, even though I am tired.

To end, I will relay an analogy that has been reoccurring in my world the past month.
At the beginning of the week, I started a dig-hole to gather dirt for use in the raised beds and soon I began to hit the afore mentioned rubble.  I was a bit irritated at having to stop so often to pick rocks, brick, glass, and other debris, but I put them in respective piles without much further thought.
In beginning the keyhole garden a few days later, I was set with searching the plot for rocks and knew exactly where to begin-at my pile I had somewhat begrudgingly, very apathetically built.
I was reminded, for the hundredth time, that each step builds on each step until an entire process, journey, or garden is finished.
I was comforted, for the hundredth time, that the small moments of embracing the Spirit in Obedience are significant in a chain of events that I cannot yet see the end of.
I was encouraged, for the hundredth time, that I am held, directed, and fought for by the One who loves me most.
And it was a beautiful, hundredth moment of learning just one more thing.


Isaiah 28:10 "...For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little..."

Settling In...if that is possible.

Well, I have ventured, and been graciously welcomed, into two very different worlds.

Both are in the business of helping people, especially ones that are openly broken, and yet they go about it in two different direcitons.

The urban farm is beautiful.  Just a year and a half ago, it was a worn down, trashy, city-claimed plot.  It is now a bustle of activity, creativity, and hope.  Within minutes of walking around the area, I can feel the peace it offers its chaotic setting.  And meeting the plot-growers is tremendously encouraging. (One, Ms. McFarlan hugged me the moment she met me and is one of those wonderful elders that says, "Oooooh Looordy!" often : )
I am currently taking a week hiatus from the farm while the Darshana Community does some transitioning, but I am reading up on "foods that heal."

Things for all of us to remember today:
~We were made to eat PLANTS! Now, I don't think we all must be strict vegetarians, but....please do pay attention to the fact that our current American diets are not all we justify them to be. We gotta eat 'dem greens! (and purples, and reds, and yellows...)
~Our bodies get ENOUGH "sugar" from the fruits and carbs we eat! Eating other sweetners (e.g. refined sugar cane, aspartame, fructose corn syrup, etc.) causes our bodies' pH to drop, which then jacks with the natural chemical processes. That's why sugar is definitely a no-go when we are sick, because our immune system is doing all it can just to re-regulate all the normal functions without trying to deal with the shock of serious pH imbalance.
~The local farmers, *ahem! those at the local markets,* are working very hard and in great ways are helping to expand sustainability in a world we have quickly destroyed. And especially in condensed urban areas, farmers and gardeners are beautiful breaths of fresh air in showing the Creaor's hand.

Random things to know:
~Veggie plants like about 6 hours of sunlight a day to grow properly
~"Bush crafting" is a great way to use natual supplies for structure building--practical, sustainable, and unique.
~Different colored vegetables most aid different parts of our bodies-green for the heart!
~We use too much of our fresh water in silly ways!!

The Child Advocates office is also beautiful. People from all walks of life are spending their time, energy, and hearts to really be a voice for abused and neglected children. And there is so much focus on helping the parents as well, knowing that this in turn helps the child.
I have already been in some crazy court hearings the past couple days...
It hurts to be in there. I see the brokenness of humanity spread wide open and clung to...I hope I never forget to rely on the Provider for Compassion...He is the only Life-giver their is.

I got to sort through the poems of some of the kids for a guy that is wanting to publish them. Sheesh, it was one big heart-wrenching, hope-giving afternoon task. Those kids are so raw and open. I will cherish their words when it gets tough.

Speaking of tough, I do typical intern things in the office: making copies, calling donors to badger them for email addresses, organinzing seating charts for events.
But I also am getting to be very involved: having already been a liason to find resources for one especially chaotic case involving a refugee family from the Congo (btw, PLEASE look at that civil war there and its devastation to MILLIONS of people...it's very tumultous, and the first step to help is people being aware), attending court dockets (the specific set of cases to be heard during a certain time span), and beginning to be trained as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer (Volunteers are the people who help lessen the load for the Guardian Ad Litem, the legal voice for a child, in a case.  They are very important to giving each child individual and specialized help! Look up your local CASA agency to help- casaforchildren.org).

Random things to know:
~There are over 14,000 open CHINS (Child In Need of Services) cases in Marion County alone.
~Sometimes it is dull to work in an office, even with a fast-paced job...little post-it notes of encouragement are sure to bring a smile from a warm heart : )
~Every kid, each person, is constantly growing and changing and every unkind word, no matter what the apparent reaction, hurts deeply.

So,
I can't believe I haven't even been here a week.
I have had very many emotions in such a short time: overwhelmed, excited, happy, exhausted, hopeful, anxious, discouraged, angry, fun, apathetic, inadequate, helpful, and sad just to name a few.
I have had a few moments of almost giving up, in several ways, but the Sustainer is ever-faithful to pull me back...
I pray you accept some of that Hope today, it's really the only thing worth it, no matter which world I'm in.

Here goes nothin'

It is a rather freeing, and new, feeling to drive away from home toward an adventure of a summer-my back seat only half full (thanks to a dear friend encouraging a season of simplicity), a surprise mixed cd (thanks to another dear friend) pumping through my average speakers and out my manual windows, and the sun shining like crazy.
And, yes, I'm a bit afraid.
And, yes, I'm very apprehensive.
And, yes, this is one of the most exciting things I've done.

I had a lovely and refreshing lunch (thanks to yet another dear friend), a pit stop at Windermere to be reminded of the lessons learned last summer and a bit of encouragement for some beautiful women, and finally an evening with the brother and sister-in-law (where the loud and constant buzzing of the Cicada reminded me that this world does not belong to me, I am simply in it).
And thus, my first 2 months of residency out of good ol' BO, MO ensued.

I will work full days at the Child's Advocacy Agency of Indianapolis, hopefully finding some clarity for my future in the areas of social work and law. (childadvocates.net)
My nights and weekends will be filled living and working on an Urban Farm, hopefully finding some knowledge base and specific goals for living more sustainably in Bolivar and on the Pine Ridge Reservation with the great Lakota Sioux.

I may have bitten off a rather large bite and, yes, that is a bit scary.
But I serve a Perfect Provider and Sustainer.
And I will learn very deep lessons of Dependence through this all.

So, here goes nothin'...little small town girl with an open heart, headin' off to the big city for a new adventure. Bring it on :)