Crazy Awesome week here in Philly

So we just had our first week as just the Philly staff and I would have to say it was one of the best Youthworks! weeks I have had. When they first came I was really nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle their crazy energy and wasn't sure I would get along with them. But as soon as I thought that God laughed at me and taught me more than the kdis will ever know in the short week I was with them. God works in such great ways.

It felt like it was just Sunday and being in the staff meeting worried and then in a blink of an eye it was Friday and we were saying goodbye to some great friends we had just made. I really think that what I learned from Greaterworks really applies to each week that I have here with Youthworks and that is if at the end of the week we haven't given our all and it doesn't hurt that they are leaving, we haven't given enough. That is exactly what Jesus did when he went into cities. I am sure it wasn't easy for him to go from place to place and not get attached to some of the people, but he didn't hold back he still gave his all.

I hope that every Thursday night and Friday morning I hurt because the group is leaving, I want to give my all, wherever I am and whatever I am doing!

Life as a Utility

So I am here in Philidelphia with the Philly Youthworks team. I am here for now, who knows when or where I will go next. It is exciting, but at the same time a little scary.

I was talking to my friend that I was on staff with last summer in Oklahoma and he said that he was excited for me to get a permanent placement and get to know my staff and community, but I would be excited to stay as utility and move around, but the only down side is that I wouldn't get close with one group of people really well to share my summer with...so its a catch 22. Whatever happens I know that God has it all planned ou for me, so I am trusting he has me everywhere and anywhere I am going to go!

I'm exciting I get to be the extra help to the staff (if I don't get placed in a position). I know how stressful it can be to have to prep a site a do your own personal stuff for your position and I can help relieve some of that stress or even during the summer with the basic day to day things that can get overwhelming. I hope that I can do that for the staff I am a utility for.

Well, off to help Philly with their site! I'll post back soon, especially if I am somewhere else!

It's over...

Its our last day here in Moessen. I cannot believe we are actually leaving tomorrow. This is my final Greaterworks blog. It is harder to write this blog than I thought. God has taught me so much this year and I know that this is exactly where God wanted me this past year. That is always something that I worry about, am I really living out what God wants for me and now I can say for sure that this year was.

We were asked to write a final blog as a reflection of these past 8 months...heres my best shot at trying to put it in words:

- Being the hands and feet of Jesus

- True servanthood

- Passion

- Serving with all my heart

- Realizing I cannot do it all on my own/true dependance on God

- Humility

- Unforgettable Relationships

- Falling even more in love with God everyday

- Life Changing

- Indescribable

I wish I could explain it better, but words just cannot express what I have learned and how I have grown this year. If you really would like to hear about my time here in Monessen I would love to sit and talk with you!! Thanks for all the support and for following me through this amazing time of my life!

Could I really get the job??

This week is going to be short and sweet. I found out that I have a job interview this Wednesday for the job at the Salvation Army. Things are finally moving along with that. I just ask that you will pray that the interview goes well and that God's will be done in whatever the decision is. I really would love the opportunity to stay here in Monessen and work with the Salvation Army and their youth, but I am willing to do whatever God has planned.

Continuing on My Journey

I am finding it harder and harder to find time to write a blog, I want to spend this last month as busy as possible with the people that I have grown close to here.

I was given an awesome opportunity this weekend. I got to go caving with the Salvation Army youth this past Saturday. It was so much fun! The place is called Larurel Caverns just past Uniontown (about 45 minutes south of Monessen). It's about a 3-hour tour, and hour and a half going down and the same going up. Not only was it a lot of fun, but it was also a great bonding experience. In some places you need to help someone out or get help from others to keep going and sometimes you need to encourage someone who might be getting a little nervous about a certain spot or about the bats. It was great getting to know the kids better, especially since I might be working with them in the future.

I applied for a job at the local Salvation Army here about a month ago and hope to find out soon if I got the job. The divisional headquarters are the ones that do the hiring for my position and the person in charge of hiring has had a relative who is in the hospital, so even though I would love to know if I got the job, I pray for the person's relative and the whole family.

God is starting to prepare me to leave, even if I don't know about my job yet. I would love to come back in August no matter what, but I will just trust God that He will put me where I am suppose to go. I was getting really stressed and sad that we are leaving in 3 weeks, but now God is working in me to remind me it's not suppose to be easy. If you read about Jesus's journey, I'm sure it wasn't easy for him to go and work with people and then leave on the rest of his journeys. Christians (me especially) have a lot to learn from that.

Pulled from Reality

It has been a crazy three weeks for me. As my time here is dwindling I spent the last three weeks kind of detached from my regular schedule as I focused on the two Spring Break groups that were here and then this past week I was up in Kennedy Township, near Pittsburgh helping Adam getting the Youthworks ready for this summer. It was a great three weeks, but still sad that I couldn’t do my regular schedule, I miss seeing everyone that I normally get to see on a weekly basis.

The Spring Break groups were great; I talked about the first week and the second one was amazing too. The group was from Central Michigan University, where I went to school. It was so god to know some of the people and reconnect. It was also great to be able to talk to them about things on campus.

Then last week was great as well. Helping Adam gave me much more respect for Youthworks vehicles and for that matter all vehicles in general. Adam is also a great teacher when it comes to cars and life. We got a chance to talk about a lot of topics from cars to belief to life lessons and stories. He also taught us so much about cars, we changed oil; replace shocks, breaks, and even a truck bed! It was great being able to help him out for the week, but also such an informational week.

Even though these three weeks were great, I really felt pulled from reality and I am really excited to get back into the swing of things starting Monday. Its crazy that I only have a month and a week here. I hope to make the best of the rest of the time I have here!

Where has thet time gone?

We just had our first Spring Break group last week and one on its way tomorrow. It is crazy that we have only 7 weeks after this week of Spring Break. It feels like we had just gotten back from Christmas break and were planning the Spring Break trips.
It was great to be able to show people what we get to do on a normal basis. The group that just left were such hard workers it was awesome to see 9 people with a huge heart for service. It was great having them here and getting to meet some great people, but
I am really excited for this week since they are coming from my school!

The only downside to having the groups here is that we can’t go to most of our ministry sites. It is hard not being able to see the kids at the STAR program for 2 weeks or see the ladies at the ACORN that come on Wednesdays. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to have the groups here to show them some place I have fallen in love with, I just wish I could be able to do both.

It was also tough this past week because we found out where we are going for our Youthworks summer and that none of us our staying here. It really took the focus off of the group and they didn’t deserve that. But, it was really hard having to tell the people around here that we won’t be here and see their reaction. It totally ruined my Thursday. I am just trusting that God knows what He is doing and that He knows where He is sending us.

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
- Luke 9:23