Staff, Shampoo, and Singing

There have been a few changes in my life in the past week. Sorry once again for the delayed update, but life has been too crazy to think about blogging. BUT... I am here now.

One huge change since my last update is my staff. My site director, Rosie, had to leave last Friday. As a result, Steph is the new D.C. site director. This is a very weird coincidence considering Steph is a good friend of mine from Eau Claire. When she applied for YW I never in a million years thought she would ever be placed at the same site as me. Although my worlds of "normal life" and YouthWorks have collided (Seinfeld reference... be proud)I am excited about what is ahead. I am nothing but optimistic for the rest of what this summer has in store for us as a new staff team.
The new D.C. staff:

Another thing that is new (as of today) is my choice to join the no-poo revolution. After months of blog reading and contemplation I have finally decided to go shampoo-less. This morning was my last official shampoo shower. I figured that a YW summer would be the best time to do this considering the fact that there is a good two weeks that my hair will be greasy until it returns to its natural pH and not dependent on the oil-stripping chemicals that are in shampoo. This may sound gross and I probably will look gross (thank goodness I am 950+ miles away from anyone that reads this) but hey... what's the worst that can happen... I go back to being a normal shampoo-using person in 3 weeks. For more info on going poo-less check out this blog: http://crunchybetty.com/no-poo-to-you-too

Fun story of the week:
This past Wednesday I had a pleasure of going to Clusters Downtown Geriatric for the morning. Clusters is one of my favorite ministry sites. It is a daycare for elderly who have Alzheimer's and dementia. My favorite part of going to Clusters is the first 2 hours when we get to simply go and talk to some of the Clusters participants during their tea and coffee time. This week was a little different than normal. We just did the usual tea/coffee time for a hour then the YouthWorks youth chose to sing for the Clusters participants. From talking to the workers at Clusters and some friends who have grandparents with Alzheimer's it has been made known to me that music is one of the last things to go for people with this disease. It was fantastic to see the whole mood of the room brighten up with the songs. Every one was clapping and singing. People who were not having the best of days had an instant and positive shift in behavior. Mr. Lemon even got up out of his chair and started to dance. It was so fun! I was laughing so hard and smiling so big. Best.Day.Ever!
As previously stated, this past week has been crazy, but my time at Clusters and the pure joy in the participants faces reminded me that the joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10b). No memory loss, staff-team changes, or greasy hair can get me down. I have Jesus. Fact!

Peace and Love from D.C.

Daily Bread

Yesterday, after the kids were gone and the shopping was done I took a lovely 4 hour nap. AH, it was so nice. I work up, messed around on facebook, wrote a letter, and called John at midnight (he turns 22 today). Needless to say, after such a long nap so late in the day I wasn't tired enough to sleep when it came time for bed.
I have been reading through Proverbs and thought my awake-ness was a good reason to have an extended quiet time away from the chaos of the week. I read Proverbs 30. Verses 7-9 really stood out to me. Fun fact, this is the only section of all of proverbs that is a prayer.

"Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God."
-Prov. 30:7-9 (ESV)

After reading this I remembered hearing pastor and author Francis Chan speak to these verses in a youtube clip. I was able to find it again. Here it is:
As I go to college in pursuit of a quality degree, work, save my money, and spend it by my choosing I find these verses really hard to pray. I want to save and not have to worry about paying bills and such, but just have the resources there waiting.
Then I look at how God is a God of provision. He will give us what we need. "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"(Matt 6:23). Jesus even teaches us to pray like this in Matthew 6:11, "Give us this day our daily bread." Not our yearly bread or lifetime supply of bread, but daily. Then I look at Deuteronomy 8:12-15 and 23:15 and how easily the Israelites forgot about God when there was an abundance.

Where is the balance between being smart with the blessings God has already provided and living in the true heat behind Proverbs 30? Honestly, I have no idea. But I know that I do desire God more than riches and that He will provide for all my needs. Where knowledge takes my life I guess we will wait and see what God has in store.

Please comment. I would like to hear other people's perspectives.

In His Grip,
Bridget

Life Back in D.C.

Sorry it has been so long. These past few weeks have been crazy busy.
On May 23rd I set off for Philly for a week of training. It was legit. It was a LOT less overwhelming than last year. It was definitely nice knowing that I am actually able to do a YouthWorks summer, instead of just thinking I will be able to. As tedious as it was to sit through some (most) of the training sessions, I remember the pressure I felt last year not knowing what I was getting myself into, so I had patience.

The following week we set off for Washington D.C, my 3rd home(1=Apple Valley, MN 2=Eau Claire, WI). AH, It was go good to be back. Brother Thompson met us at the church to show us around and give us the keys. We then got busy unpacking and inventorying all of the YouthWorks stuff. Prep week was spent getting the building ready and meeting with our service partners for the summer with Noah. Seeing the people I started building relationships with from last summer again has BY FAR been my favorite part of the summer. As much as I hate prepweek, I really enjoyed the simple fact of being able to be back into the same city working with the same people and organizations I have fallen in love with.

FINALLY, after 2 weeks of training and preparation we were ready for our 1st group to come. We had an easy week of 17 youth and adult leaders. It was so nice to actually get to know all of their names and spend full days serving along side then, instead of the typical running from service site to service site for a 1/2 at most with one group. I know I should not have favorite youth, but I do. Deal with it. This week I had the blessing of getting to know a girl named Lindsay. She and I learned the Parent Trap handshake and rocked it! It was so fun! It's weird to think we have already survived our 1st week of programing. Only 8 more to go.

Thanks for following my blog. I hope to update about once a week from here on out.

Oh yeah, here is a picture of my staff-team for ya. From the left we have me, Savi (the program staff) Noah (my other service coordinator) and Rosie (my site director). They are legit. I am looking forward to seeing how we continue to jell as a team throughout the rest of the summer. So far so good!

Unpacking to Repack

Short update... not a whole lot is new.

Today is a very rainy Sunday. I am sitting in my living room in sweats and an old comfy sweatshirt. Remembering how incredibly hot D.C. was last summer I am soaking up these moments of being able to bundle up. Despite all of the stuff I need to get done, I think I am going to take a nap!
Finals week was last week. I left Eau Claire yesterday afternoon, got home, and have been unpacking, doing laundry, and repacking ever since. Packing for YouthWorks is so different than last year. I have such a better grasp on what I need and what I can live without. Needless to say, I am 99% sure I will still overpack. Oh well!

Tomorrow morning I leave for Philly for a week of training. I do not have internet access, so there won't be any updates for about a week. I am so excited to meet my staff and get pumped about this summer together!!!

More later!

PEACE!

Relenting Expectations

BIG NEWS: I am going to be going to Washington D.C. for a 2nd summer.

It is 4:56 in the morning and I can't sleep. My brain is going a billion miles per hour. I am about to embark on my finals week in addition to getting ready for my YouthWorks summer. I don't know where to begin to process. I am so so SO excited to be back in the community I have fallen in love with... but that huge feeling of excitement is matched with a nervousness. I am in the same city doing the same job. That gives me great comfort. I know what to expect with that. BUT it is going to be so different. Instead of Courtney, Dan, and Austin I have Roselyn, Noah, and Savion. Instead of going into this summer blind, I have insight and knowledge from last summer. Along with that insight and knowledge comes expectations. These expectations scare me. I do not want them! I want God to use this summer how ever He desires.

Please pray for my continued excitement, the relent of my expectations, and the Lord to rock my world this summer as He reveals truth about His character to me.

Thank you for following me as I embark on this adventure.

I can hear the birds waking up. Whoops. I am going to try to sleep...

Headed Back East

YouthWorks update: I just got an email yesterday from YW telling me that I will be in the Eastern Region again this summer. I am super excited! I will find out what city I am on on May 13th. I am literally counting down the days (20) until I find out. I'll keep you updated!

Not a whole lot is new....
-Spring break in North Carolina was grand. It was a treat to be able to spend quality time with my uncle Tom, Diane, and Erin. PLUS I avoided a Minnesota snow storm too. Who would have thunk? Snow in March. Crazy. But then again, Wisconsin got show last weekend too... Oh the glory of the Midwest!
-I turned 21 last Sunday. That was fun. It was a very chill but very good birthday! Thanks to everyone who made it special.

Sorry for the very blah blog update.

As a wrap this post up, I encourage you to take a look at this youtube video my friend Heather showed me. It is not only appropriate for this Good Friday, but a good daily reminder of what Jesus did on the cross for us. This thing I like about this video is that it doesn't stop with the message of just what Jesus did, but touches on how we are called to respond. Take a look. Let me know what you think.



In Him.

YouthWorks Summer... Round 2!

Welcome back to my blog!
Exciting news... I just officially accepted a job working with YouthWorks as a Service Coordinator (same missions organization and job description as last summer). Saying I am excited would be an understatement. I am confidant that YouthWorks is where God wants me this summer... and I am happy to follow His lead!
Although I have the same job as last summer, this coming summer is going to be very different. Even though I know what the YW schedule looks like and more about what my job entails... having a new staff, different participants, and potentially a new location will make this experience completely unique from last summer. My mind is going a million miles an hour. I can't believe I am asking for another stress-filled, gross food, hot, and sleepless summer. BUT at the same time, I can't think of another place I’d rather be.
This news is so new to me (I just officially accepted the job Thursday)... I cannot articulate the wide scope of excitement, peace, anticipation, joy, and anxiousness I am feeling. BAH! Here we go!


Because I haven't updated since August... here is a little update on what I have been up to the past 7 months.
... Now that I think about it, there is not that much to report. Maybe that is why I haven't written anything :)
Fall semester went super fast and was relatively seamless. Transitioning from the summer had its highs and lows. It was good to be back into the routine of Eau Claire life, but challenging to apply and articulate all that I had experienced.
In January, took a winter break class that focused on some fundamentals of education. Through this class, I had the opportunity to go to Maryland got a week to observe in a high school. I learned SO much from seeing a school in such a non-Eau Claire/suburb setting. While out East we also spent a long weekend in D.C.!!! AHHH! It was so good to be back. I even got to go to church at Douglas, the church I lived in last summer. It was also fun to take over the town with some of my classmates!
Here is a video we made form our time in D.C.:

Now I am on spring break. I am spending the first ½ of the week back home in Minnesota then going to North Carolina to visit my uncle Tom and my friend Erin. I have never been to NC before, so it should be fun!

Sorry for such a long entry. More on YouthWorks and other Bridget-ventures to come.