KC Royals baseball

An ex-coworker of mine had free tickets to attend a Royal's baseball game. (The team is so bad they have resorted to giving tickets away!) I figured for free tickets it was worth the effort. It was a beautiful day; some sun, a light breeze, low humidity. It was just nice to be outside. It was Kenyon's first Royal's game, ever, and he grew-up here. Surprisingly, the team won. They beat the White Sox. I think there were more Sox fans in the stadium than Royals fans. The first home run was hit by a Sox player, it seemed like the whole stadium was cheering. Kenyon said, "oh, we cheer for the other team?" I guess so, maybe we just cheer because something exciting actually happened. It was a good game and a great way to spend a lazy Sunday. Unfortunately, it was the only fun scheduled in my weekend. I spent all day Saturday studyings and the agenda item for Labor Day...more studying. Fun, fun, fun...

Ethnic Enrichment Festival

Kansas City has a large park, Swope Park, similar to Central Park in New York. Ours is just less populated. Swope Park is where the city zoo is housed. There is also an outdoor theatre in the park, Starlight. I volunteer at Starlight each summer as a back stage tour guide for their theatre productions. This summer is no exception. A group of girlfriends and I volunteer for the Wednesday night shows. This is my sixth year as a summer Starlight volunteer. Our last show of the season is in a couple of weeks. I'm disappointed about that because it usually marks the end of the summer. I'm not ready for summer to end. Swope Park also has a nature center, including a lake where people fish and lots and lots of green space.

Each year there is an event held at Swope Park the third week of August, the Ethnic Enrichment Festival. I look forward to this event each year. They have representatives from approximately 50 countries. Each country has a booth with food, cultural artifacts for sale and usually some area with information about the country represented. There is a stage area with performances; dances, music, fashion. Kenyon accompanied me this year. We had so much fun! We ate something from at least 10 different booths; Indian tacos from the American Indian booth, hummus from the Israel booth, a dessert from Croatia, a special fruit soda from Brazil, and the list goes on. We watched an international fashion show, flaminco dancers from Spain, and a Brazilian martial arts demonstration. We spent hours there. They give the kids fake passports. Each booth has a passport stamp. The idea is to encourage the kids to visit each country and learn something about the place and the people. My favorite thing this year was that I learned in Vietnam when greeting someone, rather than ask "how are you?" they ask, "have you eaten yet?" I find that amusing. What happens if the answer is "no." Are you then obligated to feed them? Just a thought...

We left when I couldn't eat any more and had worn myself out. I think Kenyon would have continued to walk around, but I was ready to go. As we were leaving he said, "we are definitely coming back to this next year." He spent most of his life in KC and had never heard of this event. The festival has been around for 27 years! You're welcome to join us next year...mark your calendars for the third weekend in August.

Return from India

I had another amazing journey to India. We hosted a conference for over 700 pastors/social workers. We dedicated two well sites, one was in a tsunami village. We visited two potential locations for a new project; a second orphanage. We spent valuable time with the children. The litte girl in this photo is Yemi. She was newly admitted to Light of Love children's home. She was dropped off by a distant relative who could not care for her. I have no idea where her parents are. She probably doesn't know either. She suffers from severe malnutrition and neglect. South Asia is home to 46% of underweight children in the world(including India, Bangladesh and Pakistan), proportionally that is a gigantic percentage since their overall population isn't that large. To me, Yemi is the face that represents this tradgedy with her protruding bones and hollow cheeks. I have made a commitment to help Premdas and his family broaden their efforts and further their reach. I am committed to seeing the new project become a reality. I have vowed to begin a fundraising effort which I expect will be a year long commitment (potentially longer). I am convinced the work in India is part of why I was put on this earth. I am willing to be diligent in the task ahead of me. God will have to do the rest. I don't have $150,000. He will have to provide. Others will have to give generously. This is a HUGE step of faith for me. I decided on this trip, whatever the cost, whatever the risk, whatever the challenge; I will be faithful to my calling. I know it won't be easy. I know my safety is not guaranteed. I know there will be times I'll want to quit or would rather be doing something else. I vow to keep my eye on the prize and the end goal in mind. It is faces like Yemi's that compel me to keep going. I may not change the world, but if this child has a better future it was absolutely worth the effort.

When I returned home Kenyon had cleaned my entire place; vacuum, laundry, bathroom. He also stocked my fridge and pantry with food. I guess he decided I needed some help on the domestic front after the previous experience in my kitchen. Smile! Actually, it was an amazingly generous and thoughtful gesture. He cooked a wonderful dinner the Sunday night when I returned. It was nice to be home. I spent this week enjoying the food he purchased. Of course, if it required cooking it is still where he left it. I did enjoy pop tarts, Eggo waffles, fresh fruit, frozen dinners and cereal. He promised to cook dinner again this weekend. So I will get a homecooked meal at least once a week. Awesome!

I think I'm in love

I don't think I've ever been in love before (sad, but true); but, if love makes you feel like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, if you think about the person all the time, if you want to spend EVERY minute of your day with them, if you enjoy time with them even if you are doing nothing in particular, if you long to see them when you are apart, if you can't imagine what life was like before they arrived - if that is what love is like then I am definitely in love. I've only known Kenyon for a short time (a matter of weeks), but I love him. He is an amazing man. Yesterday he decided to cook dinner for me. The condition of my kitchen is embarrassing. I have two pans; a sauce pan and an omelet pan. I have no food - frozen dinners and E-Z Mac, yes...anything of substance, nope. I did have four month old milk in the fridge (I can't believe I just admitted that to the world. Disgusting!). He took an inventory of what I had then made dinner for us. After dinner he cleaned the dishes and the kitchen. He also proceeded to fix my food disposal. It hasn't worked for a couple weeks but I hadn't done anything about it. He can cook and is handy?! I think I'm going to hang on to this one. I leave to India on Friday. I'm looking forward to the trip and seeing the children at Light of Love, but I am going to miss him terribly. He is going to pick me up from the airport when I return - I can hardly wait to see him again and I haven't even left yet. I feel like a giddy teenager and I'm nearly 30, what's up with that?! New to me.

Kenyon

I recently met an amazing man. His name is Kenyon. He is about 6' tall, black with striking green eyes, big biceps, and a kind heart. He is a Christian. He is 28 years old (younger than me). He hasn't dated since 2003. He said he has high standards and wasn't willing to compromise them just to avoid being alone. He's never been married and has no kids. When I told him I'm divorced, he responded by saying, "I'm sorry you had to go through that pain." He said he's been looking for a woman who is smart (I like a man who likes smart women!), compassionate, and would offer something to help him grow as a person. He earned his undergraduate degree in Computer Science. He works in management at FedEx and intends to move his way up in the company. Conversation with Kenyon is very easy. From what I know about him so far, we seem to be moving in similar directions in our lives. I didn't think all of his qualities existed in one man. He has spent this week filling my office with flowers. I had a bouquet of flowers delivered on Monday. Then he personally delivered flowers and lunch on Friday. This guy definitely has potential. He stirs something in me that I don't think I've ever felt before - something that isn't easily defined by words. He introduced himself at an event I was at with girlfriends last Saturday. He told me he'd seen me before and was glad to have run in to me again. He's asked me to dinner about ten times since Saturday. I finally agreed to meet him for lunch. The lunch went so well I think I'm going to take him up on the dinner offer...eventually. After all, I am still Sheri - busy, cautious, and really good at making men work for my affection. We'll see if he's willing to do the work?