Mele Kalikimaka

It is Christmastime in Hawaii!! Which means I haven't blogged in a month. I've got SO much to catch you up on. Y'all know I love a good bullet list...so here it comes! (Sorry though, no pictures today.)

* As I told you about in the last post, we took an all school camping trip to the North Shore. It was a really fun weekend! We hung out at the beach, ate yummy grilled food, and made smores. We gave the students the opportunity to get baptized in the ocean up there. Two of the girls asked me to go out in the water to stand with them as they were baptized. It was awesome to be a part of that with them! What an honor. I tell you what...these students are seriously incredible. They love Jesus and are hungry and eager to know Him more. I love my job.

* I finished my substitute teacher training course! YAY! 30 hours of (pretty much useless) time in a community classroom. I did make a friend though. A really nice girl named Rachel. We've met for lunch a couple times and she even came by the base to see what life here is like. I forget how bizarre my little world is until I bring someone from the 'real world' in. I guess not all people live in a Christian community. Its funny when people call it a 'commune'...I guess that's kinda what it is, but it sounds so weird. (I can't wait to see how many google searches for Christian commune end up here now.)

* I had the opportunity to teach the DTS for one morning. It was for outreach prep. I taught on having the attitude of a 'learner' when we go into other cultures and I also taught on culture shock. This was one of the things that I was most excited about doing here, and it was so fun to really be able to share this stuff with the students. I had a terrible time with culture shock on my DTS outreach in India 8 years ago...and I didn't know what it was until 6 years later. I sadly just thought I went nuts for a couple months. I am passionate about preparing the students (and staff) for what they might experience in another country. And I loved being in teacher mode. I miss that.

* Changing topics...(which is why I love bullets...who has time to write good transitions?) Thanksgiving! My Thanksgiving was also really fun. We had a base-wide dinner the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Our rockstar kitchen manager made an incredible meal for all 100something people. Then Thursday, I helped make brunch for the base. Then, while watching the parade, I made my Grandmother Ruth's famous cornbread dressing to take to my friends' house for our family-sized thanksgiving feast. (Which was also delicious!)

* The very biggest thing that has happened in the past month is that we got all 40 staff and students on outreach! We have teams in 4 countries: Cambodia, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, and Bangladesh. (This is, by the way, my most legitimate excuse for not blogging.) They'll be there doing all sorts of ministry in these places until the beginning of February. As the school's admin, I was responsible for all the tickets, visas, money distribution, etc. It was hectic...and stressful...I made more than my share of mistakes...and maybe sometimes I was a bit snappy...but the Lord was gracious and we got everyone out there. One really cool part of my job is that I get to see first hand how the Lord provides finances for everyone. Quite a few people (staff and students) had no clue where their money was coming from, and it all came in. I'll give you one example. We have one student from Korea; his parents aren't believers and do not support what he is doing. He came here with a couple thousand dollars. He needed almost $7000 total. He was so faithful with what he had...he even washed his clothes by hand because he didn't have money for laundry. It was amazing to see his money come in. From churches, from staff, from students...it was amazing. And that is just one of the cool stories. The students were blown away by God's provision and faithfulness. It was so fun to watch. Our God is so good!

So now here we are on a practically empty YWAM base. My house went from 20-something girls to 3 girls. Out of the DTS staff, there are only 8 of us left. We've been spending time preparing for the next quarter that begins in January as well as tying up loose ends from this school. It has been fun and busy. We're taking a break this weekend and going camping. (I know what you're thinking...Tatum never camps...2 camping trips in one month? It is true. And I'm starting to actually like it. Weird. But not the being dirty part. I still don't like that.)

And last, but definitely not least....I'm coming home in 5 days for Christmas!! I know I've only been gone for like 4 months, but I can't wait to see everyone and sleep in my big comfy bed and eat my Momma's food. And La Parilla's food. (I'm pretty sure I could list about a hundred things that I can't wait to do.) I'll be there for 3 weeks--3 weeks full of resting and reconnecting. If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about coming home.

Since I didn't get to say it on Thanksgiving, I'm gonna say it now. I am thankful for you. There are more than a few people out here who don't have supportive friends and family. I can't imagine what that is like. I am freakishly blessed to have y'all. I love you!! And I'll get to see a lot of you very soon!