sometimes you need to remember to be a kid.

hiking down from mt. antero.

ropes.  (full stop)

maybe frolick from time to time.

and, when you get the chance...go climb a mountain.

ROY G BIV off the back deck of the lodge.

antero.  thanks to mal for such great shots.

sometimes we square dance.  yes, this is my boss.  thanks be to God.

ruth is my friend.

oh, lucy.  how much fun we have.

what I do now with my athletic training skills.

Last post I gave a glimpse of the mountains in my backyard.  The Arkansas River is also right at my doorstep here in BV.  The first snapshot is of said body of water in Salida, a nearby town which is the home both the nearest Wal-Mart and Sonic and Starbucks...all clearly of high importance.  Salida also has quite a few cool shops and restaurants that make me happy.  Here, you see me with a few of our summer interns, Jessica, Emma, and Shannon, as we enjoyed a bit of a festival in Salida, called FibArk...which turned out to be quite the spectacle.  I loved it.  I loved the masses of people of all eccentricities.  Funny how I now love being in anonymous crowds from time to time...feels like home in a way.  
Lastly, in my pictoral portion of this post, you see a bench in the Aspen Grove here at camp.  My friend, Stacie took this picture and added the caption, "Reflection".  Seeing this  simply made me take a deep breath...peace.  


Week four is in full swing at Trail West, which means the first session of staff are on their last week with us.  An entirely new team will arrive on Thursday, and weeks five through eight will be organized by a whole different crew.  I am both sad to see friends depart and thrilled to see others arrive.  
It continues to be an odd reality that my "normal" world is now at camp.  Bizarre.  I do not think I will truly feel I have properly moved into this neighbourhood until August arrives.  The summer season is a whirlwind of relationships that grow deep quickly and sometimes leave in a way which seems abrupt.  Though I am no stranger to people arriving and departing in my sphere, I know that when August presents itself, I will be sad to see friends (old and new) go back to their respective homes.  
Ok, no need to go too far into the future, as I still have 8 weeks of camp crazy that will without doubt stretch, grow, and change me in deep ways through challenging situations and incredibly interesting people.  
I continue to be thankful beyond words and blessed beyond measure.  I am affirmed more than I can ask or imagine that I am spot on where I am meant to be for this time of my life.  Oh, how intentional and loving is the Lord.  
Even though I know this life at camp in the summer season is in some ways ridiculously sheltered, safe, and serene, making it feel anything but real, I am assured that it is quite alright to be in such a place for a time.  What an expression of love from the Lord to allow me time to rest after life abroad.  Simply and deeply thankful.  
I pray all is well with you, friends.  
Cheers, 
kb.

A bit of an image for you from my literal backyard nowadays.  I sort of stole this snapshot from a friend who is taking pictures often of our gorgeous surroundings.  I believe this is Mt. Princeton.  We are nestled in the valley of the Collegiate Peaks...Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, respectively.

Life in Buena Vista, Colorado is simple.  Simpler beyond words from my life in Londontown.  I have so much more mental space than I have had in recent years.  I am unsure of what to do with all that free energy, I must confess.  I know the Lord is calling me to rest and breathe.  The above view is without doubt helpful in that quest.  I am assured I have many lessons in store for me here.  I pray I am attentive.

Summer season begins in tomorrow for us here.  The rhythm will be more staccato than smooth, though the lyrics of this melody will be full of excitement, depth, and energy.  I am supremely looking forward to the people I will be blessed enough to meet, the behind-the-scenes tasks I will get to accomplish, and the ways I will see relationships grow in richness.

I pause as I ponder what other musings I have at present...  My house is adorable and located in the center of town which enables me to walk to almost anywhere (other than to work) easily.  I walked to meet some friends the other night, and I just felt more alive.  I told my friends that I am reverting to my English nature and am walking henceforth unless I absolutely have to drive.  I got my hair cut the other day by my new friend, Andie, who I called randomly at a salon I drove by.  Andie is from London.  In the non-summer months, I have an office-mate called Juliette who is from where?  England.  We talk about tea, the newly appointed British Prime Minister, and the "the same but a bit different"-ness of GB.  Just a couple little love notes in this Colorado song the Lord is teaching me to sing.  The Lord is so in the details and knows my heart.
I bought a yellow dresser from my neighbour, Trader Tad, who is a story in himself.  He shook my hand and introduced himself..."Hi, Kym, I am Trader Tad".  I just smiled.  He helped Leslie and I get it in the house and then offered to be a resource to us for anything we might need as new people to the area.
I find I am incredibly organized these days.  I believe I have always been more neat than not since I began life in college and lived with others.  Though, I feel my disposition to be tidy has ramped up since having moved to London.  I attribute it to moving as much as I did in my three years and to the utterly small spaces that I inhabited, both in my own flats and in spare bedrooms of others' houses.  Honestly, if you put a jacket down on the bed, you felt as if you had lost priceless square footage.  Truly.
My desk must stay clear to keep my brain clear and focused with as much new as there is to learn.  I like my room tidy, so I can spread out on the floor and write, create, or simply sit and type, as I am currently doing.
Ok, for those of you, friends, who like silly details of my world, there you go.  I will take some snaps of my room and house for the next post.
Even better?  Plan a trip to see me!  We have plenty of room for passers-through.  And, I adore a pop-in!
Cheers,
kb.

I am going to disappoint this go around with no visuals of my new home in Colorado.  Sorry.  I will put some up soon, but for now you will just have to envision it all via my word pictures.

In Colorado I now reside.  The parentals and I drove out just over a week ago with both our cars full of my belongings.  I took us a couple of days and turned our odometers 1066 miles forward.  Aside from a bit of a frightening hail storm/edge of a tornado going over us in Kansas, the drive went well.  I have been living in the lower half of a house on camp property since my arrival which makes my commute to work a 3 minute walk up the road.  Not too bad, I would say.  The one downer at present is that the house sits a bit too deep in the valley, and I only have phone reception in two places in the house, and even those are not terribly reliable.  I do not trust the reception enough to make a phone call, as I know it will most likely drop.  And, no internet connection in this place, also due to the proximity from the main lodge of camp.
I could go on and on with details of the move and the first couple days of work, but here I will choose to comment on overarching observations.

My state of thanksgiving is immense.  I find the details of my new CO life to be falling into place without much effort from me.  I continue to be given opportunities and only have to make a phone call to follow up or show up when I am invited to do so.  A friend called me a few weeks ago to tell me she thought she found me a place to live.  Yes, indeed, she did.  I begin my move today into a lovely 3-bedroom house with two girls who are close to my age and happen to work at Frontier, another YL camp just a few minutes away from TW.  I wondered how I would work out finances for the first month or so, as I would need immediate access to cash for rent, bills, etc.  Before I had time to worry about it or make a plan B, I got a call to report that a way had been sorted out to make certain I could take care of all I needed without delay.
As I sat in our staff devo yesterday morning, I was asked to say a few words about how I have arrived to work at TW.  I told a bit of background and then attempted to articulate the deep sense of peace I feel about being here in Buena Vista working in such an amazing atmosphere (scenery and people).  I spoke of a sense of life slowly becoming less complicated.  My work at camp will be full on and fast-paced much of the time (especially during the summer months), but life in all other aspects appears to be unfolding as rather simple.  On a regular work day, I go in at eight and leave at four-thirty.  Bizarre and nice.
Work is defined and compact.  I am so accustomed to taking 3 types of transport and the better part of an hour to get to a staff meeting.  Now, I walk down the hall.
Formerly, I planned my day and spent the majority of time on my own striving to accomplish all the needed to be done to keep things moving.  Now, I work alongside people and converse constantly.
I have only two proper days of work under my belt thus far, and I know the distinctions of this new job will continue to surface.  The Lord is going to have to teach me how to do life at a different rhythm here in BV.  It will be a process, as ever.  I look forward to it, and feel it to be not unlike transitioning into life in London.  Transition is transition, no matter the locale.  Going from one rhythm to another takes time, processing, and awareness for me.
I am eager to see how the Lord continues to reveal more of who I am...an Arkansan who feels more at home in London than almost anywhere who now lives in a small town in Colorado.  Each location is a part of me, and I long to learn/grow to the fullest in this new place as much as I did in the two previous, without losing the parts of me that feel as though they belong in my former "homes".

Next post, I will put up snapshots of my new house here in BV.  This week I will take on a challenge of decorating a room with odd angles and two-toned walls.  I am up for it.  I am elated to begin settling in and making the space mine.
Til then...
kb.

Not a bad view, yeah?  I spent the beginning bit of this week in Colorado.  I was asked to journey westward to have further conversation about a potential job at one of my favourite places, Trail West, a Young Life family camp.  I have spent time at TW the last two summers, and each time I set foot on this property, I feel a sense of home.
I do not believe in coincidence, only intentionality.  The Lord has control and a plan He is working at all times (Jer.29.11) whether we are aware of the puzzle pieces being placed with precision or not.  I am convinced of this truth.  Another fact, in my experience and belief?...(Eph.3.20)...that plan is beyond what we even think we might desire.
So, based on my above statements and on the events of the last month, I share with you the next locale I will call "home".
I will be moving to Buena Vista, Colorado in a couple weeks to begin a job working in what we in YL call, Guest Services.  Giving you a full job description is a bit difficult, so I will simply say that the job is much to do with making the pieces of camp come together behind-the-scenes and helping the guests have the best experience possible while on our property.

I beyond blessed and excited to be starting this next adventure, as I am convinced that the Lord has led me to take this job.  His fingerprints have been all over the entire process, and I am seeing many similarities in this move and my move toward London a few years ago.  Some of the likeness is tangible and explainable and some is simply deep within my spirit and can only be known to me.  All of these endorsements are undeniable, and I am thankful.

My time of transition and re-entry very much continues.  However, this move will allow for many pieces of my day-to-day to stabilize and root a bit...a huge move forward.

So, my definition of "home" continues to expand.  In the next few weeks, I will add Colorado to the list which now holds Arkansas and London, England.  I am still scratching my head about the realities of being able to live in such Eph 3.20 type places...only indicative of the Lord being in control and not me.
This girl who in her pre-London nature stayed rooted and still has now become accustomed, even prefers to step out into the unknown and experience a new adventure.  Again, I am moved to thanksgiving for the intimate, risk-taking love of God which assures me that he is faithful (Ps.86.14).

Ok, so enough depth...check out my camp...  YL Trail West family camp.
Plan a trip to come see me!  Buena Vista is near many a ski slope, the Arkansas River, and is simply gorgeous, full stop!
cheers!
kb.

Directions.  I adore directions.  You can see here why London suited me straight away, as the lovely English do the favour of helping people cross the zebra crossing safely with instructions painted on the street.  Love.
Tonight I sit at a table at a friend's house who is offering her hospitality for one week more before I move onward thinking of my UK home.  It is dark and rainy outside, and the sound of the drops on the windows is quite cathartic.  I will not be so overly romantic as to say that I loved the fairly ever present precipitation in London consistently, but now that I am in the States once more, rain soothes in a way in never did before.  While others hunker under their coats and sprint in and out of buildings to there vehicles, I walk quite at my leisure breathing deeply and enjoying the familiarity of the smell, sound, and simplicity of raindrops. 
Clearly, it does not take cloud cover and drizzle to bring thoughts of London to mind.  But, as I sit on the verge of a new move, I am taken back to my last move of significance.  I also write here in a bit of a shout-out to my friend, Lana, whose blog you can read on the column link to the left.  She is one of my kindred spirits in more ways that I can aptly describe and specifically by way of London love and life.  She and I shared the city streets for only about 6 months, but as she spoke about in her last entry, those times had a way of flipping the whole of our lives upside down, sideways, and...well, changed perspective on all things previously thought "normal".  By the way, I believe I have found two words that it will be difficult for me to ever write (or even say) without using inverted commas (or quotations marks):  "normal" and "home".  I am pleased that these words have been expanded and altered in my world.  I am eternally grateful.  
Having written numerous times before about the specifics of my London-missing, I will abstain from doing so this evening.  Instead I will comment on what I learned in a conversation earlier this week about my time in London.  While chatting with a friend about "how my transition is going", I began to fall into a bit of a script I have come to follow when asked said question.  I began to comment on how full-on the roller coaster of transition, re-entry, and culture shock are and the nature of learning to leave London in London and look ahead to find the next adventure and step in the journey.  However, this time when I began to say these somewhat pat answers, I meant what I was saying.  It was quite a moment, actually.  
I explained that I am learning that London was/is...well, indescribable, intimate, and embedded in my character, heart, and head henceforth.  Part of me will always live in London.  I will always feel at home there.  At this moment, I do not do life in London, however.  And attempting to recreate that life lived across the pond here in the States is not a realistic expectation or goal.  Were I to hold onto hope for said accomplishment, I would fall short time and time again.  
So, I look forward to the next steps, and I do just that...keep stepping, putting one foot in front of another.  Whether wearing my American New Balance or my black Camper "English girl" shoes, I keep moving as Kym, the girl who is from Arkansas, who lived overseas for a few years, and who is now looking for where the Lord has for her next to experience and engage in life.  What new locale has He in store?  
I feel at the moment it will be in Colorado, if we want to get a bit more specific and less theoretical.  The details of moving to this destination are yet to be hammered out, but the process has begun starting with a move to near Little Rock with the parentals for a time.  I need to touch family home base for a bit before the venture westward.
My time in NW Arkansas has been full of purpose, as the Lord does not make mistakes, in my opinion.  Though the time here has been up and down, full of emotion, and frustrating at times, I have simultaneously been blessed with precious reunions with dear lifelong friends, have been introduced to amazing new friends with whom I have lived life full of stories, coffee, and perspective, and have been shown by the Lord changes He has made within my person that I am convinced may have not been as evident to my eye and heart had I been in a non-familiar environment directly upon my Stateside arrival.  NWA is not home for me now.  As mentioned, I hold that word loosely and only know currently that I need to move onward to find its new definition in my world.  
I look forward to the next locale, and I am assured the Lord has gone before and is going alongside me.  (Duet. 31.8)
I quote my afore mentioned friend, Lana, below as my heart shares her sentiment:
"I now have a constant ache for a new place, a new city, a new adventure."
Yep.  Well said.  I recognise this new state of myself, and I am thankful.  I also recognise how foreign and puzzling this newfound disposition may seem to others with whom I live life and interact.  I find myself at a loss by way of truly "explaining".  I can only say how blessed I know I am to have such dear, dear friends quite literally around the world who invest in, take interest in, and love on me as I move here and there in my quest of finding "home".  Thank you.  Thank you for your loyalty as I eagerly, nay desperately, seek to  discover which steps are coming into view in the midst of a literal haze of transition.  
Soon...
kb.

Have you read any Henri Nouwen?  I highly recommend him, if not.  I get a daily email from his writings that honestly, sometimes I read and other times I just pitch.  One day this week, I was struck by this excerpt I found in my inbox.  I hope it blesses and frees you in your pursuit of deeper relationship and intimacy with God, who IS love.  

Creating Space for God

Discipline is the other side of discipleship. Discipleship without discipline is like waiting to run in the marathon without ever practicing. Discipline without discipleship is like always practicing for the marathon but never participating. It is important, however, to realize that discipline in the spiritual life is not the same as discipline in sports. Discipline in sports is the concentrated effort to master the body so that it can obey the mind better. Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God's guidance.

Thus, discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God. Solitude requires discipline, worship requires discipline, caring for others requires discipline. They all ask us to set apart a time and a place where God's gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to.

                                                                                                              --Henri Nouwen

happy valentine's day.

Dave Barnes - Balumtine'th Day

www.youtube.com

we all need thome help thontines

a sure laugh to celebrate today.  dave barnes.  check out his music and enjoy his silly.  :)
click the link above.

cheers,
kb.

a bit of a recommendation for a brilliant $0.99 you could spend that would bless, I believe...?

Kirk Franklin...Still (In Control).  track 15. worth every cent.


Verse 1:
Lately I've been thinkin'
Thinking 'bout you
And all the things
I've seen you go through
Your mother the kids and
The problems at home
Sorry I wish I could fix what's wrong
I hurt when you hurt and
I cry when you cry
Even the deep ones
Sometimes wonder why am i going through
I'm waiting but still no use

Chorus:
He's still in control
He's soverign and He knows
Just how it feels to be afraid
Have folk you love walk away
Be still and know He's still in control

Verse 2:
Lately depression
Your job and your life
Weighs on your mind
All day and all night
You know every scripture
And what prayer to pray
Only a fool would think
It'll all go away
But there is a use
For you there's a plan
A High Priest who knows
And who understands what you cannot say
Just a little longer can you wait

Chorus:
He's still in control
He's soverign and he knows
Just how it feels to be afraid
Have folk you love walk away
Be still and know He's still in control

Bridge:
Don't know what tomorrow will bring
Or if this sickness will ever leave
You can paint a perfect picture
But will it ever look like it used to be
See, one thing I know for sure
This season made you stronger and more mature
Can't you see how far you've come
And when you look back
It's gonna be worth it, oooh

(Chorus)

He's still in control
He's still in control
He's still in control

cheers,
kb.

Someday I want to live here...in Italy.  Nothing about this picture pertains to my recent thoughts necessarily, aside from the fact that I am in the midst (in a more full-on way than perhaps ever in my life) of looking for and anchoring to concrete bits and pieces that I know to be true in regard to me.  
Transition is a full-on process.  I would be willing to say with relative certainty that each of us have experienced a transition in our lives.  Clearly, as we grow older, life brings more and more of these times of change, evaluation, and shift.  These passages carry within them alterations in what we know to be "normal" or "familiar".  These moves require us to navigate a circumstance or world unlike the one we have become accustomed to in our day-to-day.  As mentioned, we all have times of change and movement in our lives, some more radical, abrupt and/or manic than others.  


My current state is, without question, a time of said flux.  In recent years, my immediate reality has held much changeover, so I have become somewhat accustomed to this process.  However, the added elements of relocation and repatriation are deeply felt at present.  
I am...well, it is difficult to sum up "what I am".  But, as I know some of you are wondering, and as I feel the need to process, I will simply say...  
I am "in the midst".   


Some days are full of joy, laughter, and pure appreciation of my numerous blessings.  Other days bring sadness, longing for my London life(which is a such a deeply layered statement-"my London life"), and frustration that I am unsure of where this path I am on is leading.  
Keeping proper perspective is key, I know.  My world is safe, full of friends, and provision is present, while people in places like Haiti have utterly nothing and are in a state of immense struggle and desperation.  I also know that God is concerned with both of these very real circumstances.  He cares about the little and the big.  I am humbled by and thankful for this truth.  


A good friend and I had coffee yesterday, both of us feeling rather downcast.  We chatted a bit, and then without intending to, both became quiet and stared in different directions, lost in thought about our own story lines that are in process.  One of our observations as we traded tales was that during these times of unknown  and confusion are the very times we are reminded that our faith is a choice and not a feeling.  Thanks be to God.  Love is a choice.  Yes, we do feel it, but in the tough spots, in the "I have no idea" moments, in the "What on Earth?!" situations, we ultimately must make a decision.  Do I believe or do I not? 
Do I believe what I tell people about this faithful God who has protected and provided for me the whole of my life?  The God who literally moved me across the world, from Arkansas to England?  For that matter, the God who took me to North Carolina to camp and saw me through a "hair-raising experience" on a ropes course?...and, this just in, all the other millions of other loving acts He has done for me along the way?  I get to choose.  And my choice?...
Yes, I absolutely choose to believe in Love.  Though I cannot see or touch love, I know it exists.  I am convinced of it.  So, all the more in times such as these, I must return to my anchor "in the midst" of the storm and haze... 
1John 4.16...
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  


Twenty ten is proving to a new decade in loads of ways.  I am finding it to be a challenge, to be full of potential, and to be overflowing with movement.
Funny how truth remains, is it not?  Truth is constant.  My thoughts are taken back as ever to my favourite verse in Scripture... 
John 15.4...
Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
The Lord consistently honours this promise in my life.  He teaches me lessons that hold up even "in the midst".  Remembering these lessons is how he fleshes out His "remaining".  
Cobblestones.  
Remember how I love cobblestones...their age, their character, their aesthetic appeal...?
I have photographed these bits of imperfect, unique stones in many different countries, as I adore them.  A fact about said broken, flat stones?  You cannot walk on them quickly or without careful attention to their contours, edges, and imperfections.  You must be present in your stepping.  If not, ankles tend to twist.  
So, I return to my love of cobblestones and the truth the Lord has revealed to me in this seemingly insignificant component of paths that exist across the globe.  Step carefully, and stay present, trusting that the Truth-teller is who He promises to be.  Remember.
Psalm 145.13...
The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
I choose to believe.  
kb.

I am at a bit of a loss for pictures at present, so I will share this one with you that my friend, CJ, tagged me in the other week.  She saw this in Boston where she is in university and captured it for me.

"You follow me everywhere?" was her caption.  I loved it!  :)

Until otherwise notified, this will be my blog site.  I am unsure how often updates will appear, but I hope that as my adventure continues, I will have more to write soon.

Not sure where I will be going next in my journey now that I am living again in the States.  As you know, I am currently in Arkansas, but I am feeling beyond antsy...

So, stay tuned...I am doing a bit of research about possibilities...

As the new year is quite literally a few days away, I am in deep contemplation about what I want to be the theme of twenty ten.

I hope Christmas was full of joy for you and your family and friends!

cheers,

kb.

And...I am back.


I'm walking...I'm walking...I'm walking.
Walking elsewhere from this fave spot, but still walking and trusting the path will reveal the next step in due time...

Thanks for blog-hopping with me.
Cheers and soon...
kb.

Hey, all!
I am in the process of upgrading my blog. I have made a new one, and I am trying to figure out how to merge the two. I will keep you posted.
Here is the new address...
web.me.com/kymberlybrinkley
Cheers!
kb.

                                                                                                 A little place we call Club Malibu in British Columbia. I have just recently returned from a month as a work crew boss from this breathtakingly beautiful locale. I met some fantastic people, and the Lord stretched me in unexpected ways. I owe you all a major update, but I did want to give you a few snapshots of camp, the fab work crew, 80's night, and the lodge at night.
Cheers!

Just a taste of Colorado for you. I tried to find a chipmunk running around to get a picture of to enhance my last story, but to honest, I was a bit gun-shy. Oh, and this is my new fun friend, Mallory!
Cheers!
Kym

Ok, so are you ready for this? I am fairly sure I can answer for you all when I say, "No, you are not". This morning, yes, this morning I was awoken by a chipmunk running across my head. Yes, this is what I said...a chipmunk. At the time I thought it was a rat. I am still not 100% convinced that it was not a rat, actually, but other sightings later in the day were of a chipmunk in the house so I guess I have to go with it. This rodent woke me from a dead sleep by running across my left ear. (I am laughing right now just thinking about it. I cannot truly believe it happened still.) I swatted "it" away and got out of bed to go into my other housemates room calmly, completely groggy. I opened their door and said quite calmly, "I am not 100% sure, but I think a mouse just ran across my head". "What?!", they both squealed. Still trying to fully wake up and come to terms with what had just happened, I tried to decipher if it could have been my imagination or just my hair in my face. No, I concluded. It felt a bit like a spider of something because of its quickness but had a bit of weight to it. Definitely a mouse. Marilyn, one of my roommates, and I braved re-entering my room, and she began to put my sofa bed back together. I had stacked the cushions over in the corner of the room when undoing the sofa bed. Marilyn peered into the sofa and saw nothing as we both chatted about how ridiculous it was that we were looking for said mouse, as if we knew what to do with it. We had both just confirmed that we would scream and run if we did find it when...as Marilyn picked up a cushion, there it was! It moved in what could only be called a scurry across the cushion and disappeared. We followed suit and scurried screaming into the other room. I decided the safest place was standing on Marilyn's bed. OH MY WORD! Needless to say, I have found a new place to lay my head tonight.
As I walked around camp today, people continually asked me to tell the story and inquired about my well-being. : ) So hilarious...and completely...shiver/shudder-inducing. Later in the day, the people staying upstairs spotted him in their bit of the house, trapped him, and he got out away out of the house. I drug some summer staff guy who worked in the kitchen down to the house later in the day with me to watch me pack my suitcase. Just a couple of hours ago, I heard Mr. Chipmunk had returned to the house. I knew better than to stay down there. : ) Just had to share. If I see one and can get a good picture tomorrow, I will post it. I mean, it is not shocking to have critters running amuck when you are at camp in the middle of the nature. I see them around camp all the time, but running across your face? No thanks! Ha! : )
kb

A night at my brother's house last night to see the kiddos. So fun.

So, Sunday, I turned over a new leaf in London. I drove. Yes, on the left hand side of the road. I have driven once a day for the past three days. Strange. Shaky. Strange. Now, I must confess that these journeys have been a mile at best down a very straight stretch with only one roundabout. But, I mean, seriously, crazy to be on the other side of the road and in control of a motor vehicle. I only ran up on two curbs and it was only for a brief moment each time. My depth perception issue that I have is not sure how to maneuver with everything flip-flopped. It is an entirely new way to look at things. I feel less like a 15 year-old while I am in the countryside these days. Now, I am not going to necessarily make a habit of driving around Kerry's Bluegeot (Peugeot that is blue), but it is nice to know that if I need to transport myself, I am capable. The necessity these past few days has been to take care of Brooke and Tate's lovable golden retriever, Pacey, while B, T, Asher, and Kerry are away in Paris. And, yes, Pacey is called Pacey because of Dawson's Creek. Yet another reason why I knew I should move here and work with these people when I came to visit 2 years ago to check things out. 1.) Brooke and Tate spoke about the characters on Friends as if they were a part of their lives, intermingling quotes in normal conversations. Ex: Tate: "I mean, I don't know why we are even talking about this. It's a moo point." Me: "It's like a cow's opinion". Brooke: "It doesn't matter". Truly, at that moment, I knew. I knew this could work.
2.) Dog named after Pacey, the far superior character to Dawson who gets the most cred due to the creek being possessed by him in the title. Whatever.
You guys miss me, don't you? Be honest. My random stories...I know. Well, I'll be home in a matter of days. Get excited! : )
Cheers,
kb
word/phrase of the week: "sussed it out"...meaning someone has assessed something. "Yeah, I sussed out the people at the party and figured out it was not my crowd."

Softball season wrapped up officially yesterday with a 5th place finish at ISSTs (International School Sports Tournament). Our performance was worthier of a much better place in the hierarchy in my opinion, though. We had a very challenging draw in our pool of play. I am extremely proud of my girls and how they played. We had a great time, too! I will miss them greatly over the summer. I am now checking of my rather large to-do list which will wrap up my school year. I leave for the states in 9 days.
A few pics...CJ, one of my sball'ers, the team minus Micaela who I believe may have been taking the picture, St. Johns' Wood High Street-the crosswalk where I saw Sir Paul strolling not long ago, and the cutest little boy maybe in the world, Asher, Brooke and Tate's son, who I just adore. :)
Cheers,
Kym

(The softball team at our team dinner and a bit of a relay at our Wyldlife cookout.)


Travel stateside commences in less than a month. I will be flying to Arkansas on 10 June where I will stay long enough to get my internal clock adjusted back to American time, unpack, and re-pack. My next flight takes me on 14 June to Colorado for a week to visit YL family camp, Trail West. The week in CO will be a great one undoubtedly, as I rest from this year that has been...less than restful, and get the opportunity to see family camp done YL-style, which I know will be with utter excellence. I feel TW could hold a bit of potential for me in the future perhaps with summer assignments and such. We shall see. : )
Next, I will journey to Seattle to meet my assigned team and work crew kids who I will spend the next month with at another of our YL camps, Club Malibu in British Columbia. I will be a work crew boss overseeing high schoolers who are volunteering a month of their summer to serve their peers who come as campers. I have had only one assignment as a WC boss prior to the upcoming one, and it was one of the best months I have experienced. Needless to say, I am beyond excited. After a month at Malibu, I will return to Arkansas to spend much anticipated time with friends and family for a couple of weeks before heading back to England to kick off the fall with Wyldlife camp in Wales.

Sounds like quite a lot, yeah? Yes, but a good lot! Camp is one of my absolute favourite places to be. Time working at YL property does take a vast amount of energy, but it invigorates my spirit with joy, community, attention to detail, and a tangible view of a job well done, in a way that I am so looking forward.

As I pray for energy and focus for these last few weeks in England, I strive to rest in between each task as to claim His power and hand in all I do. I long to claim that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. As I rest in his promises, He is able to strengthen. I
This year has been an amazingly blessed one as relationships have deepened with kids and parents alike. The Lord has met me in such mighty and finite ways that my mind and heart reels. In the midst of His work and blessing, this human is tired. Having moved here and there for the majority of the year and not having a haven in which to nest is beginning to take its tole on my being. Maintaining work with my high schoolers (FWEL and softball),beginning new ministry with my middle schoolers (Wyldlife events), furthering recruitment of adults who share vision for the ASL community (committee forming), looking for more donors to fill in the gaps in my budget, and continuing to learn how life in England differs from the states brings me to the end of the school year looking forward to some time away.
Ok, enough depth for a bit. I know you are looking from some uniquely British interactions and Kym story-telling... I aim to please. : )

So, the spring in England brings sun and sport. As I am living currently in Surrey with Kerry (fellow staff friend) and commuting into the city daily (about an hour by train and tube), I find myself being even more acquainted with public transport. On any given Saturday, I find the train filled to the brim with rugby fans on their way to Twickenham to see England scrum and try. Twickenham is on my route into the city. Packed trains standing shoulder-to-shoulder with loads of people is not generally the scenario I am looking to spend a tremendous amount of time within, but I must say in some ways these weekend days are quite pleasurable and smile-inducing. Everyone is unbelievably friendly and chatty, smiley even. For those of you who have spent time in England, you will know firsthand that most people avoid eye contact completely and typically only break a smile at dogs or babies.
My journey began on the train standing in between two blokes proudly sporting their red rugby shirts toasting each other with Magners (cider beer). All spectators on their way to the match clutched their Tesco (grocery store) bags filled with Carlsburg, Fosters, etc.-beer) and chatted with every new passenger that boarded about the fact that heat was on on the train when the temperature outside was at least 20 degrees C. "Just like England", one guy said, "heat on the trains when it is hot outside and air conditioning on in the winter". All around him affirmed his statement, including myself. (It really is true.)
Fast forward to the second bit of my commute on my journey into the bit of London called Soho where I was meeting three friends at one of my new fave places, Hummos Bros. As I sit on the tube, a group of Birmingham football fans join my carriage. They are all singing boisterously what I can only assume one of their many team songs. (I heard at least 4 between the time they boarded and left.) I had my ipod on, so I did not anticipate any chatting with these obviously friendly guys. I was flanked from both sides from the group, but I was not bothered. One across from me spoke loudly as to drown out my music, "Don't worry! We really are quite nice blokes.", smiling. This cued the gent sitting to my left to ask me what I was listening to. ipod now placed in my bag, as clearly we are becoming friends, whether I would like to or not. : ) Dave, the inquisitive one on my left, continues to ask me questions about where I am from and asks me if I have ever been to Birmingham, Alabama (which is how I realized he and his mates were from B'ham locally). The combination of his mates singing and his rather thick accent made our conversation quite challenging, but the next stop turned out to be theirs. As they left the tube, Dave shook my hand, leaned forward and kissed my cheek goodbye as he said with a thumbs-up, "PROPER!" (For those of you wondering...no, he was not dreamy. He was probably 50 and just a nice man.) I smiled all afternoon. I love England. Where else would that happen?
Cheers,
Kym