The Land Yacht

Wow, so things I'm not very good at: updating my blog.  Sorry about that!  Okay, well because I haven't updated in forever, the way I'm going to do this is to do several smaller posts about how things have been here in Hilo instead of doing one ridiculously long post.  I guess this post will be a little bit about how our first few weeks in Hawaii went.

In our first five weeks of being on STINT, I was on nine airplanes and lived in six different locations.  That is a lot of airplanes and a lot of places.  It meant a lot of packing and repacking and living out of a suitcase (or two).  I really cannot tell you how happy I was when we were finally able to move in to our house, if only because it meant I didn't have to drag my two huge suitcases around anymore.  Anyways, there was a lot of moving.  This post might be a little bit rambling as I remember stuff.

When we first landed in Hawaii, I couldn't get over how beautiful  it was.  I still can't.  It's amazing.  It was overcast and green and cooler than I expected.  Two of the students in Cru at UH Hilo, Matt and Lehua, picked us up from the airport and took us to the Pakalana Inn.  Looking back on it now, it's really strange to think about our first night in Hilo.  We walked to Subway for dinner and brought it back to our rooms and watched Firefly.  It was kind of surreal.  That whole first week we walked around downtown, went to the Farmer's Market and experienced the joys of fresh fruit and vegetables for super cheap, and got caught in the rain multiple times.  It rained a lot.  I'm pretty sure it rained more in the first two weeks than I've ever seen in my life.

Pacific Island STINT Team!

The Pakalana was booked solid about a week after we arrived, so we had to find somewhere else to stay before people who had reserved rooms for Christmas showed up.  Luckily, we know some of the greatest people ever: the Matsuis!  Kent and Erin are the staff couple at UH Hilo, and they have two adorable kids, Ethan and Savannah.  More about the Matsui family later.  Back to housing stuff.  They were going out of town for the holiday and allowed us to stay in their home while we searched for a place to live.  We stayed at the Matsuis for two weeks.  The boys stayed in a hostel for some of the time, but eventually all eight of us ended up at the Matsuis (Kimi was still in Japan).  It definitely was a team bonding experience.  I was amazed at how well we got along and were able to live together.  With eight people, you'd think that showers and meal times would be crazy, among other things, but it actually worked out.  We didn't have a car yet, so we were basically stuck up there unless we wanted to take a $40 taxi ride into town.  We ended up playing a lot of cards, especially nertz.  Except by the end of our stay there we all kind of got tired of playing nertz together and played solitaire in the same room with each other instead.

The other exciting thing that happened while we were at the Matsuis was Christmas!  For most of us, it was our first Christmas away from our families.  We ended up having a Bible study together, doing a Secret Santa gift exchange, and cooked Christmas dinner together.  Luckily, the Matsui's house was already decorated for the occasion.  I was one of the people in charge of food, so I got to help plan our menu and cook.  For future reference, don't call Target and ask them about pre-cooked spiral sliced ham.  They will be extremely helpful and spend about 15 minutes trying to find someone who knows if they carry ham, but the truth is this: they don't have any.  Anyways.  Cooking.  We cooked Christmas dinner and it was awesome.    

At some point we did actually get a car.  No more $40 taxi rides!  It was a big deal.  As a team, we purchased a 2000 Chevy Impala.  However, we got a little more than we expected.  Apparently, it is not uncommon for cars to be infested with bugs here and we have been able to experience that first hand.  Somewhere in our car there are hundreds of little tiny roaches living their lives and having more tiny roach babies.  It was a horrifying discovery.  Screaming was involved.  We've bug bombed the car, but they persist.  At this point we've sort of come to an understanding, but we are not friends.

The Land Yacht

The other thing about the car is that it is massive.  Seriously.  I'm pretty sure it's as big as a car can get and still be a car.  To give you an idea of how big it is, when four of us went to Wal-Mart and Target to buy house things, we filled five shopping carts and managed to put everything we bought into the trunk or on our laps and still have a little bit of room.  It is a Land Yacht.  

So, yeah.  I'm not really sure how to end this post; I have no transition from car to conclusion.  A lot of things happened, and hopefully this gives you a little snapshot of what it was like our first few weeks in Hawaii.  There is more to come!  

Next up: Midyear Conference in Thailand and our layover in Korea!  

Rain and rain, what is rain?!

So.  Big changes.  Sorry this post is going to be ridiculously long.  I'm really not even sure where to start.  The most important news is that Japan has denied our visa paperwork and so we have been reassigned to Hilo, Hawaii.  We leave Tuesday for a briefing in LA and then go to Hawaii on Friday.  Here is my attempt at explaining how this all came about:

We (my STINT team and myself) have been planning to go to Japan for a very long time.  In August, we submitted paperwork in order to get our Certificate's of Eligibility, which you need in order to get a visa.  Tokyo Immigration says that it takes between one and three months for this paperwork to get processed, but in the last six years that Cru has sent a team to Tokyo it has usually taken about 4-6 weeks.  Two months at the longest.  So, for about two months we waited, expecting to hear any day that our CoE's had arrived.  We packed and had goodbye parties and bought winter clothes.  At the two month mark, Japan Campus Crusade for Christ called the Immigration office and asked about our CoE's.  They were told that things were taking a little longer because of the tsunami, which is completely understandable.  Another month passed, and JCCC was unable to get a hold of anyone regarding our paperwork at the Immigration office.

Two weeks after the three month mark, we still hadn't heard anything.  On December 1st, our leadership made the decision to send us to Hilo, Hawaii if we still didn't have our paperwork by December 6th.  As it happened, on December 6th we received word that Immigration had reached a decision regarding our paperwork and that it was in the mail.  On December 9th, we learned that our CoE's had been denied.

Everyone was surprised by this decision, since this has never happened in all the time that Cru has been sending STINT teams to Tokyo.  Apparently, there have been some recent changes to immigration laws that we did not know about when we submitted our paperwork.  In the next week or so, JCCC will be sending staff to find out exactly why our CoE's were denied and what we can do to make sure that this doesn't happen in the future.

So we are going to Hilo, Hawaii.  There are a couple of different reasons.  One is that there is a very large Japanese population in Hilo, and at the University of Hawaii, Hilo where we will be working.  There are only two staff people on the whole island and the movement is just getting started, so it's really great that our team gets to be there to help build the ministry.  Another reason is that we won't have to wait for paperwork.  Hilo is (obviously) in the US, but we will still be able to have an overseas STINT experience and live in a different culture without sacrificing anymore time.

Honestly, this sucks.  I am really sad that we won't be able to go to Japan.  I know that our leadership is sad we won't be able to go to Japan.  JCCC is sad that we won't be able to come and be with them.  I am disappointed.  But mostly, I am confused.  I don't understand why the door to Japan would be closed to us. Why my teammates and myself would feel called there, but unable to go.  This is something I've been asking God a lot the last couple of days.  And I get the sense that He is telling me to wait and see.  I absolutely believe that this is God's plan.  I don't get it, but I know that He loves Japan and knows what is best for the Japanese people.  He loves my team and knows what is best for us.

There are a lot of sad things about not going to Japan, which I will not list because then I'll start crying.  But there are also a lot of awesome things about going to Hawaii, of which I will list some:

-I cannot wait to see what is going to happen.  I know that we might not get to see the results of our going to Hawaii, but God has a purpose and I hope that we will be able to see even just a part of His reason for sending us to Hawaii.
-In sort of an interesting twist, about two years ago I briefly considered interning or something in Hawaii with Cru.  It's kind of funny to see how God works.
-I'm excited to build up the ministry in Hawaii.  The movement there is small, and a lot of people don't know about the truth and hope and awesomeness that is Jesus.  I can't wait to see how God uses our team.
-My team finally gets to be together!
-Seriously.  Hawaii.  There are worse places to go.
-I like the ocean.
-I don't have to get traveler's checks (for once in my life, procrastination paid off)
-UH, the university we will be at, has the Vulcan as its mascot.  Granted, it's more Roman god Vulcan and less Star Trek Vulcan, but I can pretend.
-My phone will work in Hawaii!  So call me!
-Hawaii is probably not as expensive as Japan.

There are more, but this seems like a good start.  Let me know if there are any that I absolutely must add.  And since this post is really long enough, I will end there and leave you with two verses that have been impressed upon my heart the last few days:

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."  Philippians 4:11
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18



*The title of this post comes from a truly terrible quote in an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series called Spock's Brain.  Just from the title, I'm sure you can tell it's a winner.  I <3 TOS very much, but this one is just bad.  At least it's funny.  Basically, a woman appears on the Enterprise and steals Spock's brain (surprise!).  When Kirk and Co. beam down to find it, they are confronted with a bunch of people who are extremely unintelligent.  When they try to explain that they are looking for Spock's brain, the head woman literally says, "Brain and brain, what is brain?!" Listen here!  I'll stop there.  Don't want to ruin the episode for anyone.

The other reason for the blog title is that it rains, according to Wikipedia, approximately 126 inches a year in Hilo, Hawaii.  I'm from Arizona.  We get about 9 inches of rain a year.  One hundred and twenty six inches.  I. Do. Not. Understand.  I literally cannot wrap my mind around that much water falling from the sky.  Rain and rain, what is rain?!

Also, if you connected that Star Trek quote with this blog post, you have a problem.  That's okay.  I do too.

The Fellowship

Meet my team, which we have affectionately dubbed The Fellowship from Lord of the Rings.  Because there are 9 of us, of which 2 are men.  I believe I represent Gimli, mostly because I love him and not because I'm short.  That has actually no bearing on anything and just happens to be an interesting tidbit for your enjoyment.  

I love this team already.  We've only spent a week together at our briefing in August, but we skype and facebook and text and I can feel our bonds growing.  They are all pretty awesome and I can't wait to get to know them better.  And since you don't really know them at all, let me introduce them to you!

From left to right:

Albert-Albert graduated from UCSB in May with a degree in engineering.  Like me, he enjoys watching Psych (and other shows) and we have great fun discussing the episodes via text message.  He is one of our awesome team leaders.

Christine-Christine also graduated from UCSB in May.  She had her birthday while we were at briefing, so we got to surprise her with a cake and a present!  She loves architecture, and thanks to the Discovery Channel she also knows how to make a canoe.  Sort of.  She would also be awesome in the Cash Cab.

Me-Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die....Just kidding.  I couldn't help myself.  I already did a post about me, which you can read if you so desire.

Nikki-Nikki studied theatre at Texas State University and has an interest in special effects makeup, which she is really good at doing.  She loves film and dressing up.  She also likes the Hunger Games and Firefly, and is really funny.

Kimi-Kimi is from Texas, graduated from USC, and is a huge Trojans fan.  She is re-STINTing in Japan this year, which means that she was in Japan last year, too, so she gets to show us around.  She loves Japan a lot.  She also loves the Rangers, dance, gymnastics, and theatre (her major).

Katie-Katie graduated from UCSB in May with a degree in Math.  She actually grew up in Japan (her parents were on staff with Cru) and is going back!  She likes working with international students, playing sports, and running.  She's also going to be one of my roommates!

Amy-Amy graduated in May with a degree in Creative Writing.  She's my friend from ASU, and one of the reasons I'm on the team.  She is super smart, great at writing, and loves to dance.  She is also the only blonde person on our team, which I didn't notice until she pointed it out.

Sarah-Sarah has a degree in Equestrian Science and is from Missouri.  She is also a re-STINTer, except that she was in East Asia last year.  She's been to Japan to visit her sister, but has never been there with Cru before.  She is our other awesome team leader.

Kylan-Kylan graduated from UC Berkeley where he studied Japanese and Anthropology.  He actually spent a year in Japan on a study abroad program.  He likes to read and write and help other people out.  He joined the team kind of last minute after we needed another guy in order to go.

So there's my amazing team.  The Fellowship.

How I got to where I'm going, aka Japan

I am going to Japan as a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ.  While there, I will be going onto university campuses and helping with their student ministries, raising up student leaders, planning outreaches, as well as just going out and sharing the love of Jesus with students.  My team and I will also be discipling the Japanese Christians that are there in order to prepare them to go out and reach their families, their coworkers, and the rest of Japan.  

So why Japan?  

Honestly, I never thought I would be doing anything like this at any point in my life, much less right now.  Two years ago, if someone had told me I would be going to Japan for a year as a missionary, I would have told them no way.  But the truth is that God has changed my heart towards missions in a huge way.  Last summer I went to East Asia on a summer project with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ; I'll probably refer to it as Cru from now on) and while I was there it really opened my eyes to the need in the world for Jesus.  I came back from that trip seriously considering ministry as something I could do after college, at least for a year.  I never considered Japan, though.  

Japan was brought to my attention by two of my friends who had been there on a summer project the year before.  Amy and Jack both fell in love with Japan, and when Amy was deciding to go on STINT there she asked me to consider going there, as well.  Actually, she pretty much just told me I should come with her and I told her that I'd rather pass, to which she responded, "I'll pray you on to our STINT team."  Who knew how true that would be!  For the rest of fall semester, I talked to both Amy and Jack about Japan and they shared their hearts with me for the people there.  Through them, I learned about the need that is in Japan.  Less than 1% of the population is Christian, and there is a suicide every 15 minutes.  The culture emphasizes tradition and a collective mindset of what it means to be Japanese.  Christianity does not fit into that mindset. 

Amy and Jack told me about the students they had met and how they felt empty inside, with nothing to look forward to except a potentially dead-end job.  They told me how they did ministry in Japan, building up relationships with the students.  And the more I heard about the need in Japan and the people, the more I connected with it.  I felt drawn to Japan.  

So I prayed.  And prayed.  And prayed some more.  For a while, I was very much convinced that I was going to stay at ASU and intern here instead.  But then I went to San Diego Winter Conference just after Christmas and God moved in my heart.  There were some amazing speakers there, and during one of the talks I was seriously convicted.  The talk was about leaving everything behind and following Jesus.  Following Him with your entire life.  And it made me think about why I wanted to stay in Arizona.  I realized that most of my reasons were selfish.  My friends were here.  My family.  My community.  My church.  It would be easier to stay here.  I realized that I wouldn't be giving Jesus my all if I stayed here, and it was at that point that I accepted what I had known for a while but refused to accept.  God was calling me to Japan.  

Even after that, it took me a while to fully embrace the reality of what that meant.  I procrastinated on my application.  I kept praying and waiting for a different response from God.  Even when I had finally submitted my application, I still wasn't sure that this was what God had in mind for my life.  

And then the tsunami hit.  Three days after I had submitted my application to STINT in Japan, I received a text message from a friend telling me to look at the news because an earthquake had hit Japan.  I remember looking at multiple news sites for hours instead of doing my homework and crying as I watched footage of the tsunami wipe out cities.  Everything was sort of up in the air.  What did this mean for STINT?  Were they still sending a team to Japan?  Was the radiation a serious danger?  What was going to happen?

I was still waiting to hear about my application while all of this was going on, and still I doubted.  I asked God to not let me get accepted unless I was supposed to go.  And eventually, I got my phone interview and my pre-acceptance and then a follow up phone call and my actual acceptance and then an e-mail telling me my placement in Japan.  We were going.    

So here I am.  That's how I got to where I am now.  Going to Japan. 

Coming next: My team!

These are the voyages of...

Hello dear friends! Welcome to my blog!

My name is Amanda Sever and I am a 22 year old from Tempe, Arizona. This past May I graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in English Literature and a minor in Business and I will be shortly leaving for Tokyo, Japan for a one-year internship with Campus Crusade for Christ called STINT.  This blog will keep track of my adventures there and (hopefully!) beyond.  Since this is my first post, I'll explain a little more about who I am.

First things first, I guess.  The most important thing is that I love Jesus and it is my desire to follow Him in everything I do.  I am continually learning what it means to be in a relationship with Him and experience His love in my life.  Even though I mess up a lot and get things wrong, I know that His grace has me covered.  It makes me really excited to think about how I will grow in my relationship with Him and how I will get to know Him better as time goes on.  I can't think of anything better.  

Second thing.  Stories are my passion.  I adore books and reading and words.

The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours. 

-Alan Bennett

I also really enjoy TV shows and movies because they're stories, too, just as much as books are.  Character development is my favorite thing ever, and I love seeing the relationships between characters.  I'm a big sci-fi and fantasy fan, and I like to watch crime shows.  Some of my favorite books and shows are as follows in no particular order:

Lord of the Rings-absolute favorite. so. good.

Chronicles of Narnia

Redwall series

Harry Potter

Artemis Fowl

Star Trek: TOS and TNG-HUGE fan.  I wrote my thesis for the Barrett Honors College on Star Trek. :)

Horatio Hornblower

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2k3 series)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Transformers

Psych

NCIS

Boston Legal

Doctor Who

House

Castle

Merlin

Firefly
Random British Television

If you talk to me about any of these, I will probably get really excited and then spend quite a long time talking about the different relationships between characters and how I see different characters and why they are great (or not great) and how various things relate to what is happening in the world and what that means and how all of this is REALLY IMPORTANT.  Among other things.  

Those are probably the most important things about me.  I like to play volleyball, and just be active in general.  I like to be outside, but I'm pretty much a city girl.  I can, on occasion, be funny.  I tend to be shy and I'm quiet, especially in groups, but that can change with a little bit of time.  I'm an introvert.  I procrastinate a lot.  I read fanfiction a lot.  I like food, especially my dad's cooking.  I also like coffee.  And ice cream.  I really like spending time with my friends and talking about God and life and why I wish Vulcans were real.  If you want to know more about me, ask me!  Or hang out with me.  Which might be hard while I'm in Japan.  But maybe when I'm not in Japan, we should hang out sometime.  That's all for now.  My goal for this blog is to update it every other week, so hopefully that will actually happen.  Coming next: why I'm actually going to Japan!  

Thanks for reading!

Amanda