Journal Writer: Heidi Williams
Trek City: Calcutta

Journal Entries:
Preparing for Calcutta
June 27, 2001
Date? Time? Country?
June 29, 2001
June 30, 2001
July 1, 2001
July 2, 2001
July 3, 2001
July 5, 2001
July 6, 2001
July 7, 2001               July 13, 2001
July 8, 2001               July 16, 2001
July 9, 2001               July 20, 2001
July 11, 2001             July 24, 2001

Trek City: Calcutta

Meet the rest of Team Calcutta

THE SCOOP ON HEIDI:
Heidi has experience in urban ministry including a two-week project in Tacoma, Washington, and a seven-week project in Seattle. When asked why she wants to participate in the Trek, Heidi shared that, "It can only be explained as a call from Jesus, and it is still very new in my life but it seems he is directing me specifically to Calcutta. The Global Urban Trek seemed the perfect opportunity to explore this new direction . . . . . I think God might be calling me to Calcutta for the long haul, in which case going this summer would help me establish connections, learn about the culture and people, and give me some understanding of what it is like to be a foreign missionary."

In ministry, Heidi enjoys one-on-one Scripture studies as well as group discipleship, particularly with adolescent/junior high students. She has led numerous Bible studies and attended two cross-cultural missions training events. Evangelism, according to Heidi, is living the gospel in an incarnate manner through everyday conversations, including non-believers in events and social activities and other "fun stuff." Heidi is athletic and enjoys singing, poetry and other writing and while such language talents may not prove immediately relevant in Calcutta, Heidi also speaks German and Spanish.

Hometown: Greenacres, Washington
Siblings: Erica, 19; Tyler (Erica's husband), 20; Patrick, 17; Andrea, 15
School: Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington
Major: Sociology
Why I chose this major: Jesus. I wanted to be a teacher, but I felt called to inner city stuff and Sociology seemed most logical.

Reflections on Urbana 2000

Anticipating the summer in Calcutta . . .
I am such a fraidy cat! What I am most scared about is spiritual attacks by demonic forces . . . this last year has been very difficult for me as I have felt severely attacked and vulnerable to demons. The fact that Calcutta is named after the Hindu goddess of death and destruction seems to signify a terrifying spiritual darkness over the city.

I'm also scared that we will have a lot of team problems: not trusting each other and being vulnerable, or not serving each other well, or prideful hearts that interfere with the love of God being expressed in our relationships. Most of it is just the fact that we are such a large group from many different schools around the region, and I know that I personally always take a long time to really warm up to people . . . so some of what I'm afraid of is that I will freak out and not be taken care of.

I'm also a little scared about the whole persecution thing -- one of my supporters (thanks Susan!) gave me a newspaper all about how Christians are being tortured and killed and oppressed in India. As much as I want to believe that I would die for Jesus, sometimes I'm just not sure I really want to test that thought. And as much as I think I've been persecuted for my faith already, it is nothing compared to what people face not just in India but all around the world.

Heroes: Rahab (see Joshua chapter 2), for having the most amazing faith; Anne Lamott, for being an incredible writer and having dreadlocks; Paula Newby-Frazier, for being the most hard-core woman athlete I know -- see the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon (I think 1995, but it might have been a year or two earlier) if you have doubts.

Most Recent Accomplishment: GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE! After that it would be me and my friend Dave riding the same bike at the same time for over a mile without dying (but just barely).

Passions: ULTIMATE FRISBEE. Sometimes I have a passion for writing poetry, too; I also dearly love ice cream of any sort as long as it doesn't have nuts in it. The prevention of poverty -- as a function of the church and a function of the government -- is a thing I care deeply about; I wrote my thesis on recent welfare legislation that aims to involve churches and rid the government of responsibility for taking care of the poor. I'm pretty passionate about my gray corduroy pants, too -- because they are five years old and on the verge of death I don't wear them much but for a while I had them duct taped in all the see-through places (the duct tape came off in the wash, unfortunately . . . so I need a more permanent solution).

Favorite Meal: My Granny's roast beef with carrots and potatoes and onions, with homemade bread and gravy, a salad out of the garden, and orange cake for dessert.

Most Recent Books Read: Operating Instructions, by Anne Lamott; A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers; Journey, by Kathleen Norris.

Fashion Consultant: Yeah right. Maybe my former roommate Anna -- she did at one point tell me to change my clothes after I'd been wearing them for three days straight, the pants (my gray cords, of course) hadn't been washed in weeks, and I'm pretty sure the shirt had something sprouting from where I spilled spaghetti sauce on the sleeve.

Pet Peeves: Some people think this is trivial, but I hate it when people don't use their turn signals -- especially if it results in me almost getting run over. I also do not like the sound of people eating ice, and it bothers me immensely when people leave a room and do not turn off the lights. Additionally, it irks me greatly when people say they will do something and then they don't do it.

Bad Habits: Losing toenails (five in the last year!); sleeping through movies; not folding my clothes or even putting them in the drawers; leaving emails in my inbox for months because I really am going to write back; leaving dirty dishes in the sink; eating raw cookie dough even though I've already had salmonella once and IT WAS AWFUL so you'd think I'd be more careful not to get it again; not doing my physical therapy exercises twice a day like I'm supposed to even though I'll probably never be able to play ultimate frisbee again (that may be a slight exaggeration). I also have a tendency to slightly exaggerate things . . .