It's almost time...

My brother will be in his own wedding in less then two days!!

(caption- my brother as the ring bearer and I as the flower girl in a neighbor's wedding in 1984. He carried that monkey the whole time and then when he walked down the aisle he caved halfway through and ran to my parents!)

I think I love coaching

The present use of the word “coach” came from the 1500’s when people used coaches to get from where they were to where they wanted to be. As a coach in your particular context, you are helping people to improve their skills to reach the goals they have so they can be where they want to be.

PSI, the graduate school that I am currently attending in has several different tracks that you can choose to emphasize in which is sort of like choosing a minor in undergrad. About two weeks ago I was able to take the Intro to Coaching class which is the first class in the “Leadership and Coaching” track at PSI.

The class was taught by a premiere Christian coach, Gary R Collins who’s written over 50 books and is a clinical psychologist who has also studied the coaching profession.

I learned rather quickly that coaching is different in counseling. Mainly, coaching focuses on the client’s personal goals and getting them to the next steps in their lives as opposed to digging in the past and doing more with diagnosis and pathology. It was neat to see though how counselors make the best coaches because of the vital listening and reflecting skills you learn along the way. So I can see how the two are connected for sure.

It would be neat for me to be able to use this degree with missionaries who are often faced with big decisions. There are also some exciting programs being developed with MTW mission fields in Europe that focus primarly on the younger generation and short-term missions with which I have a lot of experience. This summer in Kenya I saw myself in a coaching role many times as my teammates who were college-aged primarily worked through questions of what they wanted to do with their lives and how they wanted to change. There are also probably countless ways to use these skills on many different mission fields (including Kenya), which is really exciting.

I was especially intrigued by the questions that coaches often ask:
What are you passionate about?
What is something that you would die for?
What would you do to sabotage this process?
What are some of your core values?
What is something that you can't not do?

This pumps me up to be able to help someone think through these questions.

So, we'll see. The coaching track has five classes total I think so there is still much more to be explored. I'm loving my other counseling classes too so I have been so thankful lately for the opportunity to learn this stuff!

An awesome week

After a couple of hard weeks at work with change and transition seemingly everytime I peek out of my cubicile, this week afforded some awesome, awesome times.

It began last weekend with my dad coming to visit as you read in the previous blog. I also took a class that weekend called "intro to coaching" which will be my emphasis in graduate school. I'm going to write another blog dedicated just to that because it made such an impression on me.

Basically my birthday lasted a week as well. The highlight was Monday night when I had a bunch of people over to make homeless packs.

About six weeks before I left for Kenya I moved into my townhouse and began to commute to work via I-85 and Pleasantdale Rd. This interchange frequently has panhandlers out there asking for money or whatever you can give them. It got me wondering if there was anything I could do for these people while still keeping my own safety in mind. My friend Christy suggested making homeless packs which consists of large ziploc bags full of things that a homeless person may need.

On Monday then everyone brought something to add to the pack. As you can see from the pictures we had quite a lot! It was so neat. Now I've put about four in my car and will be looking for opportunties to hand them out. So stay tuned because I'm sure there will be a blog or two about those interactions.

Last Thursday night Jamie took me out to dinner at Seasons 52 which is a new restaurant in Atlanta that changes its menu based on the season and everything is under 440 calories. It was the most flavorful, delicious food I've had in a long time! They have a huge wine list and they have desserts in shot glasses! It was really fun and definitely something I have not done before so of course I loved it.

I also got a ton of txt messages, phone calls (Andy, your family's message was soo sooo funny. I saved it so you can hear it), emails, e-cards, and normal cards. So yeah, I felt like the most loved 27 year old in the world!

I need to brag on my dad a little bit

It only takes fifteen hours to drive from Lincoln, Nebraska to Atlanta and about 1000 miles, so my dad found out in his drive down to see me last Friday.

He left at about 4:30 am and got to my house at about 10:00pm, after a little detour through spagetti junction, which apparently confuses not only Atlanta motorists but also GPS systems.

The main purpose of his visit was to drop off my birthday present- these adorondak chairs and table shown in the pictures. He handmakes chairs like this and lawn gliders in his spare time. Model numbers 153 and 154 are mine! They look awesome on my deck and match my house really well.

Although his trip was sort of a whirlwind tour (he only was able to stay about 10 hours) it was so worth it getting to visit with him and getting the chairs of course. I'll see him again in two weeks for my brother's wedding.

Today the weather again was beautiful in Atlanta so I was out there sitting on them for three hours while I studied. Side note- while I was studying a group of boys marched straight up to the lake which is just feet from my deck, counted to three, and whipped two Sunday papers still in the bags into the water. They didn't see me until I accidently knocked my cell phone off the table right after the papers splashed on the surface. Then they all looked up at me with REALLY guilty looks on their faces. I said nothing and they got the heck out of there. Weird. They're still floating out there with a forgotten soccer ball.

Anyhow, what an awesome present, huh?

Ultimate Comfort

In my Interpersonal Skills class today my professor posed this question: "What are some verses in the bible that show the importance of empathy to others?" It was really cool to see what my classmates and I came up with.

Here is a passage from 2 Corinthians chapter one that was one of the answers to that question: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

It was especially encouraging to me as I am working through some changes at work, with some of my relationships with friends, and I still miss Kenya an awful lot. It seems like many times these days I experience anything but comfort. I also found out that one of my dear Kenyan friends, Martha Makuku, is going through a really hard time because one of her best friends suddenly died in a car accident last week.

I emailed her these verses this morning and continue to pray for her. And, I too need to remind myself daily of the amazing comfort that comes only from an perfectly loving, comforting and empathetic Father.

Any more good verses you can think of about the importance of empathy for others?

One of my fave pics from Kenya

This is Fouk and I enjoying a bite or two of maize (called corn in the US), which is grilled and sold by street vendors all around Nairobi. If you look closely I have paprika on mine, which you can flavor to taste. I actually regretted the paprika decision. However, it was good at least halfway through until my mouth was on fire!!

Also, Fouk, my grandmother, and I all have the same birthday on Monday! So I am posting this in honor of that glorious day as well. I will be 27, Fouk will be 20, and my grandmother....70 something?? Can a Rausch help me out?

What happens if you get to a toll booth and have no cash

Jennifer and I got to Columbia, SC around 3:30pm yesterday and got to hang out with our teammate Amanda for a couple of hours before I had to drive back to Atlanta.

We went to Rockaway's for linner (lunch/dinner) which is this awesome hamburger place right by Amanda's house. We walked there, actually. They have a pamento cheese burger there that was incredible. Apparently George W spoke at the USC graduation a few years back and asked where in Columbia he should eat and Rockaway's was the recommendation and that burger is what he ate. So I like to think I ate a piece of greatness, somehow. I certainly was in the presence of greatness (don't gag Amanda and Jennifer =).

Anyway, I used the rest of my cash to pay for dinner and on the way out it started POURING. We decided to wait a few minutes in the lobby to see if it would stop. As we were waiting we got into a conversation with a man in his 30's who was also waiting in the lobby. He had quite a story about his life and how he was in need of money. It seemed like the right thing to do so we gave him a few dollars and I gave him the rest of my change.

Fast forward about 3 hours. I'm driving on I-385 about to merge onto I-185 and I notice (and remember from the drive up to Columbia which was a mere 3 days earlier) that I-185 is a toll road. Of course, just as I merged, the scene from dinner replayed in my head and realization sunk in that I would soon be screwed when I got to the toll booth.

I tried to comfort myself with the hope in a possible chance to exit before the booth. But of course, going this way on that highway back to Atlanta afforded no such opportunity. "Maybe they take debit cards" was my final fleeting thought.

I approached the booth; first car in line. I told the lady that I had "zero cash." She looked at me for a minute (seemed like 5), and then explained I'd have to fill out this form completely and as legibly as possible with all my identifying information. I also had to pull off to do this which I was super thankful for because by this point as about 4 cars were waiting behind me.

So I pull over and fill everything out, dodge the traffic stopping to pay the toll, and get to her window and hand in the form. Fortunately this form ended up not only getting me through this booth but also was my pass for the next and final one.

I now have 30 days to send in my $2.00 which is what I owe the state of South Carolina for unpaid tolls.

The best idea ever

One of the biggest blessings of my time in Kenya was the intern team I was leading. All of us were from different parts of the country and came with different backgrounds, issues, families, longings, dreams, and goals. Our one common link was that we were all children of God. Our Father did answer our prayers BIG TIME for unity and love for one another. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35). These verses were on our minds a lot.

I am writing this blog from beautiful and fall-like Harrisonburg, Virginia. Jennifer and I drove up here to visit Carly for Labor Day weekend. Carly is the one with the dark hair and blue bag in the front of this picture and Jennifer is in the back partially covered up by Dido's face. Jennifer was planning on coming a couple of weeks ago and presented this idea of me driving up to Columbia, SC to meet her and then driving together to Harrisonburg. From the moment this adventure began we have said over and over what a great idea this was!!

Being here though does remind us of how much we miss the Kenyans and the rest of our team. So I wanted to give a shout out to Steven (Univ of Florida), Jessie (VSU in Georgia), Rachel (Missou), Lesley (youth ministry in AL), Fouk (Belhaven College in Mississippi), Amanda (the other USC), Matthew (Univ in Cairo, Egypt) and our friends in Nairobi!! Kimiso!! (Swahili slang meaning "missing you beyond words")

From l to r in this pic: Fouk, me, Jennifer, Dido, Carly, Rachel, Steven, Lesley, Amanda, Caroline, and Jessie (Matthew left that morning for Ghana so he is not pictured) at the Nairobi Giraffe Centre where we kissed the giraffes and fed them!