Inspiration from a 6 year old.

OK, so, I am less than a month away. This is crazy. I am incredibly grateful for all those who have supported me financially. I am getting close to the goal that was originally set. Things are going smoothly and I am a little nervous, but mostly excited. I am officially done with the fall semester here at Northland. I leave Ashland this Saturday, go home for about 3 weeks, and then jump on a plane.

I wanted to write this post to tell you guys a story. This may not seem all that significant to you, but to me it really shocked me and amazed me how the innocence of a 6 year old girl can be seen as philosophical at times.

So let me start with the background. I work at the after school program at Ashland elementary. I am a co-mentor for the kindergarten/1st grade class. I work 3 days a week and I love this job. The children at the after school program are often times at-risk or misbehaved children, so the job can be very challenging. Today we only had 2 kindergarten girls because there was a Christmas program today and most parents picked up their children after the program. We asked the girls what they wanted to do. They said they want to go into the woods and look for the Yeti. So that is what we did. It was a great way to spend an hour or so. We just hiked around and played in the snow. It was a great day for it too.

On our way back, we just all sat down in the snow to take a break. My co-mentor told the children about me taking a trip. These girls focused their attention on me and were waiting for me to tell them more. I told them that I am going to Haiti. One girl said "I know already. You told us that. I already knew about the earthquake that happened a really long time ago." I was pretty pleased to hear how aware this girl was. I said, "I am going to be working with children just like you in Haiti." That same girl had her mind stuck on the earthquake. She then said "I am surprised people lived because buildings were crushed and buildings are stronger than people." I then responded, "Wow, there must be some very strong people in Haiti." To end this conversation. she said "Yeah! The girls must be really strong too!"

I loved this conversation. It is true though that the people of Haiti are tough people. They need to stand firm even if the buildings are crumbling.

This story may not hit you like it hit me or it might not mean anything to you, but I just wanted to share.

Good news!

So, I just found out this week that I am going to be a full-time student for the winter 2011 semester. I have been trying to see how I can get independent study credits and how many I can get for the past month or so.

I will be taking 12 total credits. The classes I will be taking are Soc. 490 "Ethnography of Foreign Aid & Ministry", Rel 490 "Explorations of Ministry and Missions", and Rel 492 "Pre-ministry Internship." These are all classes made up specifically for my trip. I love how flexible professors are at Northland.

One Year Aniversary

Ok, so I just was reminded that the day I am arriving in Haiti will mark the one year aniversary of the earthquake. January 12. This makes me really nervous. Either PAP is going to be really peaceful or insane. YIKES.

This is real

Eeeks!! I just bought my tickets Thursday night. This is real now. I am going to be in Haiti for 105 days.

Being home was great. It was great to see my mother and all of my family for that matter. It is interesting how it is not very hard to deal with while I am at home, but the few days before and after can be a bit challenging for me.

The current question family members are asking me is a legit one, but I hate thinking about it. They ask, "What if something goes wrong with her operation?" I already have insurance on my tickets. If something happens, I am outta there. I will figure out a way to get home. She will most likely be having the tumor removal surgery February or March. I cannot worry about this stuff though. This does not mean I don't care. My mother is my best friend on this earth. What I mean is I cannot get caught up in what might happen. I am being called to go to Haiti.

"God knows." That is what a Haitian told me in April. Such a simple statement, but yet so true. Things might happen, but I have spent too much of my life worrying. I have God. I trust in him. My favorite verse relates to this: Check it out Romans 8:31.

So, I have only a short time left in Ashland. I will miss Northland, but it won't be long before I am back. I am planning on returning for the May term and then hopefully working in Ashland for the summer. Then, of course I will return for fall semester 2011 as a full-time student.

Oh, one more thing. Tonight I went to a concert. It was just a little acoustic guitar musician kind of concert. The musician was a guy that I kind of know, but I never knew him well. The concert was awesome! This guy is so super talented. I even had the opportunity to talk to him afterwards and catch up. It was a great way to end my weekend here at home. Now all I have to do is get my church on tomorrow.

I am calling the guy I know in Haiti very soon. Then I will have more information on what I will be doing there. The more organized I am for this, the better I feel.

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great!!

Here I am. Send me.

Wow, it has been two months since I last wrote on here. That is a long time. I will try to write a lot more from now on. A lot has happened in the past 2 months. My mother has gone through 3 chemotherapy treatments, I am almost done with my Fall 2010 semester at Northland College, and I am going on a 3 month missions trip in January. OOFDAH!

First things first, my mother is doing well. She is tired all the time, but that is what chemo will do. It drains her, but she still works half days 3-5 days a week. I think she is crazy for still working that much, but it doesn't really surprise me because she has always been a workaholic. It was hard seeing her without hair when I came home a month ago, but the chemo has been working and the tumor has shrunk considerably. I am going home in 3 days and I cannot wait to see her and the rest of my family. It is really weird how once I am within a week of going home, I start to get very stressed out. I want to go home, but I know it will be tough.

This semester has been crazy. Classes are fairly tough, but most of that probably has to do with me being distracted constantly. I am 3 weeks away from finishing the semester off. My grades are not as good as they usually are, but I cannot do anything about the past. I need to buckle down now and finish this semester out strong.

Once this semester is over with I am going home for my 3-week Christmas break. In January, I will be leaving for Haiti. I am partnering up with my friend Shane Mattenley and Mercy League International. I will be in the Delmas region in PAP I believe. If you are wondering what that is about, you can check out his blog at http://mattenleys-in-haiti.blogspot.com/ I will be back on here soon with information as to what I will be doing down there. So far I know I will be doing two specific tasks. I will be working in a school for street kids and I will be helping out with a discipleship program Shane set up for young men. I will be there for 3 months. Jan 12th-April 26th are tentative dates. I should have my plane ticket bought sometime next week.
If you are interested in supporting me financially, you can write the check to me Sean Kavanagh and if you put Mercy League in the memo we can get you a receipt so that your donation will be tax-deductible.

The address to send it to would be
Sean Kavanagh
6450 Sauk Trail Road
Cedar Grove, WI 53013

For any questions call (920) 946-2494
or by email: kavanaghs01@myemail.northland.edu

I understand that you may not have the money to help, but I am just asking you to consider. Money aside, I feel prayer is necessary. Please pray for my preparation and when I am there.

God is great people! It has been some chaotic weeks for me, but He has been with me every step of the way.

I'll be back on here real quick.

God Bless

Sean

In the Beginning...

So, I felt that starting a blog may be a good idea. Sometimes I just need to write. Who knows, maybe someone will actually read these.

These last few weeks have been rough. My mother has stage III pancreatic cancer. It sucks. It is so hard for me to focus on school right now when my mom is in the state she is in. I mean she isn't dying. I don't think she will, but the odds are against her. She starts chemo next week.

I came on here thinking I would be wirting 10 pages worth, but I am exhausted from just writing that. Next time I will have more. Soon I will post poetry on here as well.