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.

MINNESOTA

I am in Minnesota! I have been here for 2 days now. It is great to be near family again.
Being home just affirms how blessed I am. I have so many people here who would do anything for me. I am comfortable and safe here. I also have a lot of luxuries... a comfy bed, good healthy food, and even as much as a new computer.
I will be home until the 18th... then I go back to Eau Claire for RA training.

These next few weeks are going to be full of transition. Transition form D.C. to Apple Valley to Eau Claire. Transition from working with high schoolers everyday to living with my peers. Transition from living among some of our nations most impoverished people to living among people who have the world at their fingertips.
My biggest fear within this transition is that I will slip into pre-YouthWorks life unchanged. I fear that I will let this summer stay in this summer. But, I know that the Lord will not let this summer go in vain... so I have nothing to fear.
I know I am just at the start of processing this summer. I am excited to see what the Lord continues to teach me from this summer even as my time in D.C. has ended.

I am sorry this post doesn't flow well. OH WELL!!!

FYI... I probably will not be posting anything on here as often... but take a look every now and then just in case.

Thanks for sharing my summer with me!!!!

With all the love in the world,
Bridget

Connected Ears Unite

This weekend my dad came to visit! It seriously the best weekend I have had in D.C.! Yes, seeing 4 museums and the memorials was a blast, but those were really just the sprinkles on top of the cake. I can't express how good it was to just be able to spend time with my dad. Most all of you who read this know him well.... so I won't blabber on long... but for all of you who do not know him I would recommend getting to know him! I really admire his outlook on life. Ask him how he is and he will 9 times out of 10 respond with "Just Great!" And he means it too. He really embodies Psalm 118:24. "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Anyway... long story short. I LOVE my dad and I feel sorry for anyone who is not Catherine, Jack, or me because you don't get to have the worlds best dad as your own.

What we do while my dad was here?
Friday: Walked to the church I live in.
Saturday: Air and Space Museum, American History Museum, Holocaust Museum and the Memorials.
Sunday: National Archives and lunch with Austin, Dan, and Courtney.
Lots of waking!!! We had to have walked more than 12 miles over the weekend. Who needs a car when you have 2 feet! It was also above 100 degrees and humid here. We sweat standing still. By the end of the day it looked like we had been swimming!

They put the caution thing by our feet because we are so awesome people have to be careful when they get close.

Minnesota Pride!

Did you know that there were 3 Wright brothers!!!

Thanks for an awesome weekend Dad! It makes me thirsty to come home! 2 more weeks!

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we ARE the CHURCH

Today I went to Central Union Mission for the morning. While there we helped make beds and fold sheets for the shelter. We also helped fold newsletters they are going to be sending out. The group I was with was AWESOME!!! We finished everything with 45 minutes to spare. Usually I would be FREAKING out at this moment. My JOB is to have work for the participants from 9-3. However, today God really blessed the extra time. The group and I were sitting in a room right off the offices. The participants had the opportunity to hear the testimony of 3 of the men who work at the Mission yesterday. SO, today I asked if anyone wanted to share their testimony. Both of the adult leaders and I shared how God has brought us to this point in our lives. It was so cool! THEN, I asked the youth what made them want to come on this mission trip and what their expectations are for the remainder of the week. One of the youth said that she had signed up for this trip a long time ago, but within the past month really did not want to come. I really appreciated her honesty. One major reason for that was that someone from her church called her mom and told her mom that she was a bad kid. You can tell that stung! She started to tear up just voicing it. This girls honesty led to a sweet conversation. The main center of this convo was a frustration with how people who say they are Christians and go to church every Sunday can be the most hurtful... while at the same time people who are not Christian can be so loving and do so much good even if that is not a part of their creed.
My dear blog reading friends, how often do I judge and deny the right from someone to be loved?
I do it all the time! But, I have no place in doing that. If I say I am a Christian I am saying I am a Christ Follower. Is un-love following Christ's example?
Let's look!
The Woman at the Well in John 4:1-42.
Jesus FIRST reveals himself as the Messiah to a 1.) Samaritan 2.) woman 3.) in the afternoon (aka heat of the day when no one else was at the well). You have 3 cultural no no's right there. BUT Jesus chose to show this woman himself and give her life giving water... the same life giving water he has given us. Should not I also stop my judging and start loving? My challenge for myself is to stop seeing all that I see wrong in people's lives and start loving them where they are at...TODAY!
There are many many GREAT things the church does. But sometimes I forget the greatest commandment. LOVE! Drop everything else I have...everything the "church" tells you to be and do and start being the Church of Christ Example Followers I am called to be a part of. Start to bridge the gap that has caused the youth that was in the group so much pain.

Before I go I just have a few random things:
1.) Dad, I am SOOOOOOO excited for you to come visit this weekend! You are going to take D.C. by storm!
2.) Heather, you make me smile very much! Thank you. I am sorry my letter still hasn't made it to you. WEIRD. I put the same address on it as was on your return address form the letter you sent me. Sorry!!!
3.) All who are reading this... thank you for reading this. I know lots of people write blogs and they can be a hassle to read, but I really do feel loved by the fact that you would take the time out of your day to read about mine.
4.) SHOUT-OUT TO CATHERINE (because I didn't give you a shout-out last time I did this).

Peace, Love, and Lots of Life Learning for me in D.C.

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Bridget