My heart is restless in me, my wings are all worn out. I'm walking in the wilderness and I cannot get out. I need You, Oh, I need You; blessed Savior come. I need You, Oh, I need You; You're the every longing of my soul.
Oh, how I need You, Lord; I need Your perfect Word with tearful eyes to see the sin that I afford. I need to weep and pray for all the thousand ways that I have failed You just today.
My bed is soaked with sadness; my sadness has no end. A downward spiral of despair, and I keep falling in. I need You, Oh, I need You, to You my soul shall fly. I need You, Oh, I need You, Yaweh, how I love You more than life!
Oh, how I need You, Lord; I need Your perfect Word with tearful eyes to see the sin that I afford. I need to weep and pray for all the thousand ways that I have failed You just today.
Your silence is like death to me, so won't You hear my desperate plea? Your silence is like death to me, so won't You hear my desperate plea?
Today my soul is soaring way over mountains high. Though I can see the valleys, they're all just passing by. It's not that I am stronger, look at my feeble wings. But I've been lifted higher; Yaweh's lifted me in His own strength.
Oh, how I love You, Lord; I love Your perfect Word with tearful eyes to see the God who always will endure. Now I will celebrate for all the thousand ways that You have shown me grace and made my heart in grace to stay.
You've made my heart in grace to stay.
You make my heart in grace to stay...
I love Josh Bales. :)
So I just thought I'd post a quick update to say that things are better than ever. My mentor and I have (finally) started having a weekly meeting, and today we discussed my vision for combo quad as well as a few other things we've needed to talk about. He agreed wit hthe things I had to say and approved of my goals and ideas for the quad, so that was very encouraging. It was super nice to finally begin communicating.
Something I've been learning recently is how easy it is to become busy. Every weekend for the last month or so I've had a sleepover, movie night, or both. I'm also learning that sometimes when you least expect it, those sleepovers can be the perfect opportunity for a teenager to confess something to me, talk about things they've heard or seen, talk about a Bible question, ask for my advice, etc. For a while I was wondering if these things were completely selfish, the movie nights and sleepovers; if I was only going because I had fun and enjoyed spending time with these kids. Truth be told, that's why I go. But that's not always what brings me back. It's the opportunities they present me with to speak into a young person's life (haha, I'm an old people. :-P) Sometimes at church you be what people expect-- you put on the mask of perfection; perfect life, perfect family, perfect friends, perfect deeds. It can be difficult to be transparent and admit we've messed up. What I'm finding is that outside of that sometimes it's easier to be open. For me, it's a chance to be available and approachable, to be open about my views my experiences with more personal topics. It's fun, but with a purpose. It's not a waste of time, it's real life.
Just thought I'd share.
Peace.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime...
I figured it was time for an update, it's been a few weeks. :)
Hm... I believe we left off with Kids Camp last? Man, that seems like so long ago. My life was so insanely busy back then... we turn in time cards every other Tuesday, 3 in a row were over 140 hours. My biggest one was somewhere around 158 hours (there was like a .25 in there, or something...) If you think about that, there are 168 hours in a week. 336 in 2 weeks (sidenote: I tried to capitalize the first 3. That equals #. #36.) I worked almost 50% of those 2 weeks. How crazy is that? I should get like a month off. ;)
(Just kidding. I learned/am learning A LOT, which is why I'm here.) :)
Life has slowed down a lot since then. Soon I'll be starting a girls only small group with another single sponsor, Amber, who's 28 and went to Moody Bible College for counseling. Which is funny, because I get called Amber a lot. She says she gets called Amanda a lot. This could potentially confuse people. :) Plus I'm considering grad school for counseling. Could God have done this on purpose? There's a good chance. :) I'm also now the leader of the Combo quad.
Let me explain quads... there are 3 major schools in the area, Kennedy, Linn-Mar, and Washington. There are also some homeschoolers and a lot of smaller schools in the area. The first and third Wednesday of each month, the youth group splits into these 4 groups, called quads. The Kennedy quad, Linn-Mar quad, Wash quad, and the Combo quad. Combo quad has sort of been seen as "the leftovers." It's the kids that don't go to any of the 3, basically. It's like a smaller youth group, we have about 20 on average. The focus of quad nights seems to be solely fellowship and relationship building. I don't think this is a bad thing, but I definitely don't think it's the most important thing we can do. There is no Biblical teaching on quad nights, something I see as the primary purpose of a youth group. My goal is to change this in Combo quad, as well as to get them to be better at communicating ahead of time, and potentially get students involved in leading some Wednesday nights. I'd LOVE to see that happen, but I'll have to see how the idea goes over...
I also finally was able to join something for myself. Every Tuesday night the young adult female senior high sponsors meet at the home of a mom/sponsor in the youth group. It originally started last year as a group to talk about relationships/how to be a Godly wife, but it's still going and will continue until God says to stop. :) Anyways, we're going to start a Beth Moore study on Esther next Tuesday, and I hear her studies get pretty intense. I'm really excited. :) :)
So even though the trips have slowed down, I'm still staying fairly busy. I hang out with kids several nights a week and now I'm teaching 3rd and 4th grade Sunday school on Sunday mornings as well, the first intern to teach Sunday school. Just to add something else to my plate. :)
It's kind of hard not being at HU right now... seeing all the things going on and all the relationships building without me... :( I just keep reminding myself that I only have 3 months left, and when I do leave I'll wish I was still here. So I'll make the most of being somewhere where a piece of my heart will always remain, before returning to another place where a piece of my heart will always remain. I need to stop leaving bits of my heart laying around the country, don't I? It's a real problem.
Well, that's all folks.
Love. God, each other, yourselves. Do it.
Amanda
Hm... I believe we left off with Kids Camp last? Man, that seems like so long ago. My life was so insanely busy back then... we turn in time cards every other Tuesday, 3 in a row were over 140 hours. My biggest one was somewhere around 158 hours (there was like a .25 in there, or something...) If you think about that, there are 168 hours in a week. 336 in 2 weeks (sidenote: I tried to capitalize the first 3. That equals #. #36.) I worked almost 50% of those 2 weeks. How crazy is that? I should get like a month off. ;)
(Just kidding. I learned/am learning A LOT, which is why I'm here.) :)
Life has slowed down a lot since then. Soon I'll be starting a girls only small group with another single sponsor, Amber, who's 28 and went to Moody Bible College for counseling. Which is funny, because I get called Amber a lot. She says she gets called Amanda a lot. This could potentially confuse people. :) Plus I'm considering grad school for counseling. Could God have done this on purpose? There's a good chance. :) I'm also now the leader of the Combo quad.
Let me explain quads... there are 3 major schools in the area, Kennedy, Linn-Mar, and Washington. There are also some homeschoolers and a lot of smaller schools in the area. The first and third Wednesday of each month, the youth group splits into these 4 groups, called quads. The Kennedy quad, Linn-Mar quad, Wash quad, and the Combo quad. Combo quad has sort of been seen as "the leftovers." It's the kids that don't go to any of the 3, basically. It's like a smaller youth group, we have about 20 on average. The focus of quad nights seems to be solely fellowship and relationship building. I don't think this is a bad thing, but I definitely don't think it's the most important thing we can do. There is no Biblical teaching on quad nights, something I see as the primary purpose of a youth group. My goal is to change this in Combo quad, as well as to get them to be better at communicating ahead of time, and potentially get students involved in leading some Wednesday nights. I'd LOVE to see that happen, but I'll have to see how the idea goes over...
I also finally was able to join something for myself. Every Tuesday night the young adult female senior high sponsors meet at the home of a mom/sponsor in the youth group. It originally started last year as a group to talk about relationships/how to be a Godly wife, but it's still going and will continue until God says to stop. :) Anyways, we're going to start a Beth Moore study on Esther next Tuesday, and I hear her studies get pretty intense. I'm really excited. :) :)
So even though the trips have slowed down, I'm still staying fairly busy. I hang out with kids several nights a week and now I'm teaching 3rd and 4th grade Sunday school on Sunday mornings as well, the first intern to teach Sunday school. Just to add something else to my plate. :)
It's kind of hard not being at HU right now... seeing all the things going on and all the relationships building without me... :( I just keep reminding myself that I only have 3 months left, and when I do leave I'll wish I was still here. So I'll make the most of being somewhere where a piece of my heart will always remain, before returning to another place where a piece of my heart will always remain. I need to stop leaving bits of my heart laying around the country, don't I? It's a real problem.
Well, that's all folks.
Love. God, each other, yourselves. Do it.
Amanda
Monday, August 17, 2009
I owe my life to You, my Lord, here I am
So Kids Camp was... an experience, to say the least. Session 1, from wednesday to sunday, I was a gopher. In my gophering experience, I should have been on my feet all day, working in the kitchen 23/7, (we need time to sleep,) and have zero free time. That was not the case in any way, shape, or form. We had very little work time, all we really did was set up chairs before meals and chapels, take out the trash after meals, and a few jobs here and there. The rest of the day we had free time, swim time, or more free time. It was fun, I got to hang out with some pretty cool kids and get to know some of them pretty well, but it was still tough because I'm bad at naps (expecially in cabins with damp beds and floors... it just doesn't work) and we still got between 5 and 6 hours of sleep each night if we wanted to hang out with the rest of the counselors, which were mostly high schoolers, which is the reason why I'm here. So, on top of my lack of sleep from the last month, I piled on a bit more. :( But it was fun, I enjoyed gophering. :)
Then when I went home on Saturday, SHANNON AND BEN WERE HERE!!! So I got to hang out with them for a few hours and catch up on each others' lives a bit, which was so good... I've missed my roommate. Then I stopped at wal-mart on the way home to pick up a few last minute things before being a counselor session 2... and locked my keys in my car. Shoot. I asked the people in wal-mart who I should call, and they gave me a number and said good luck. I called, they came about 30 minutes later. They were super nice, I told them what was going on and how in my 5 years of driving that was a first (like they REALLY cared...) and my 10 minute trip to wal mart turned into an hour and a half trip... :(
So needless to say I got about 6 hours of sleep that night, with very little time for a nap. :(
Session 2 began that night; I was the junior counselor in G-6 (6th grade girls.) They were pretty awesome most of the time... there were a few incidents, and the most difficult part for me was the complaining and lack of thank-yous. I'm hugely verbal, I need the affirmation and appreciation even for such insignificant things as bandanas and candy. The closest I got to a thank-you was a demand for more. More candy, more water, more lemonade, more, more, more. All of them were already saved, which was awesome, so no eternity-altering stories to share. The coolest part was the last night all the 6th graders stayed up later than everyone else with pastor Mick and pastor Mark and watched a meteor shower, sang praise songs, and talked about the last few years. It was really cool, and the one girl who was a bit of a problem in our bunk shared a new understanding she had of who God is and how awesome He is; THAT was cool, I was really excited for her. :) Surprisingly, we had a few pretty deep conversations after chapels, including the difference between catholocism and protestantism, and what they mean. The funny thing was, even though I was the junior counselor I acted as senior counselor at almost every given point. I was the time keeper, I was the gatherer, I was the discussion leader, I was the one keeping them in check. My sr. counselor was a sweet girl, but she's not a leader. She reminded me a lot of myself several years ago, someone who would sit and let everyone else take over. I've learned to adapt, so when no one else is taking charge I can, and I did. I didn't WANT to be on their case constantly, but it was necessary. It was really funny, one of my friends even told me at the end that I was a great senior counselor. I reminded him that I was a jr. counselor, and he told me he knew, and that I made a great senior counselor. :)
Things are good. My chaos is finally complete, maybe now I can finally tackle some books... maybe. I DEFINITELY get to catch up on sleep, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. I've been a bit short-tempered lately, and that's not me at all. I can't wait to be back to normal... I'm finding that I love sr. high a lot, I've been having a lot of fun with them and I feel like it's easiest for me to connect with them. We'll see how the rest of this internship pans out... there's still plenty of time!
Much love, friends.
Then when I went home on Saturday, SHANNON AND BEN WERE HERE!!! So I got to hang out with them for a few hours and catch up on each others' lives a bit, which was so good... I've missed my roommate. Then I stopped at wal-mart on the way home to pick up a few last minute things before being a counselor session 2... and locked my keys in my car. Shoot. I asked the people in wal-mart who I should call, and they gave me a number and said good luck. I called, they came about 30 minutes later. They were super nice, I told them what was going on and how in my 5 years of driving that was a first (like they REALLY cared...) and my 10 minute trip to wal mart turned into an hour and a half trip... :(
So needless to say I got about 6 hours of sleep that night, with very little time for a nap. :(
Session 2 began that night; I was the junior counselor in G-6 (6th grade girls.) They were pretty awesome most of the time... there were a few incidents, and the most difficult part for me was the complaining and lack of thank-yous. I'm hugely verbal, I need the affirmation and appreciation even for such insignificant things as bandanas and candy. The closest I got to a thank-you was a demand for more. More candy, more water, more lemonade, more, more, more. All of them were already saved, which was awesome, so no eternity-altering stories to share. The coolest part was the last night all the 6th graders stayed up later than everyone else with pastor Mick and pastor Mark and watched a meteor shower, sang praise songs, and talked about the last few years. It was really cool, and the one girl who was a bit of a problem in our bunk shared a new understanding she had of who God is and how awesome He is; THAT was cool, I was really excited for her. :) Surprisingly, we had a few pretty deep conversations after chapels, including the difference between catholocism and protestantism, and what they mean. The funny thing was, even though I was the junior counselor I acted as senior counselor at almost every given point. I was the time keeper, I was the gatherer, I was the discussion leader, I was the one keeping them in check. My sr. counselor was a sweet girl, but she's not a leader. She reminded me a lot of myself several years ago, someone who would sit and let everyone else take over. I've learned to adapt, so when no one else is taking charge I can, and I did. I didn't WANT to be on their case constantly, but it was necessary. It was really funny, one of my friends even told me at the end that I was a great senior counselor. I reminded him that I was a jr. counselor, and he told me he knew, and that I made a great senior counselor. :)
Things are good. My chaos is finally complete, maybe now I can finally tackle some books... maybe. I DEFINITELY get to catch up on sleep, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. I've been a bit short-tempered lately, and that's not me at all. I can't wait to be back to normal... I'm finding that I love sr. high a lot, I've been having a lot of fun with them and I feel like it's easiest for me to connect with them. We'll see how the rest of this internship pans out... there's still plenty of time!
Much love, friends.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
And the beat goes on...
Alright. Since we last spoke I've been on the middle school missions trip, the Palo baptism service, the sleepover, the pool party, the sr. retreat, the Maquoketa caves, a dance party, and joined a young adult small group. Whew! And tomorrow we have a cleaning/decorating party all day and then I leave for kids camp.
The middle school missions trip. For 2 days I joined them (it went for 5 days). Day one we went to Vinton, IA where we stacked bricks on pallets for a road repair type company. There are several brick roads in the town that need major repairs after the flood last year, and the bricks can only be stacked by hand... We (the 11 middle schoolers and 3 adults) placed 250-275 bricks on each pallet and finished a total of 23 pallets. Each brick weighed around 5 lbs (we don't know exactly... and I think that's a low estimate.) Do the math. But the kids had such a great attitude about it, they were excited to get so much accomplished and wanted to do more. Day 2 we went to the home of a flood victim where we pulled a lot of weeds, cleaned stuff, moved stuff, and helped wherever we could. The 2 most memorable things from the day: pulling a rose bush, including finding all the roots deep down, and emptying jars. The rose bush was on top of a cave, which from the outside looks like a normal hill. Because of that leverage, there were several times when I was digging that I put my full weight on the shovel and my feet came completely off the ground. The kids thought it was funny and had Pastor Mark (not my mentor, but middle school Mark) take a picture of it. :) Emptying jars, the lady had about 20 or so jars with food in them that had been in her cellar for... years. Lexi (my mentor's youngest) and I got to dump these into a bucket and put them in water to be cleaned. Some of them were discernable; the tomatoes, pickles, jalapenos... some we had no idea about. The mushy, stringy stuff; one had even turned black and slightly solidified. We had to take a spoon and scoop it out. Yum. We loved every minute of it. It was awesome bonding, it was really amusing (all the screaming and grossness), and it'll be a memory we won't soon forget... ;)
The sr. retreat was also really neat. Hanging out with the outgoing and incoming seniors, seeing their love for one another, watching them serve each other, hearing their words of wisdom and affirmation, it was awesome and inspiring. I'm learning so much from this summer and getting so many ideas... this is definitely one to hang on to if I do go this route.
Yesterday we went to the Maquoketa Caves. I fell down. A lot. I got dirtier than I probably ever have been in my life (including Mexico... ) I walked through a foot and a half of mud, I crawled through a foot and a half of space, I was clausterphobic, I was scared, I was tired. It was awesome!! :)
I'm exhausted and it's only gonna get worse in the next week. But the end is near, then I'll be able to sleep. And clean my room. It'll be so good. :)
All in all, things are great. I'm loving the relationships I'm building day-by-day and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in the next 4 months. It's been a wild ride so far, but in a good way. :)
That's really about all I have, and I'm not good at ending stuff. So bye.
:) :) :) :) <---- in case there weren't enough in rest of this blog. :)
The middle school missions trip. For 2 days I joined them (it went for 5 days). Day one we went to Vinton, IA where we stacked bricks on pallets for a road repair type company. There are several brick roads in the town that need major repairs after the flood last year, and the bricks can only be stacked by hand... We (the 11 middle schoolers and 3 adults) placed 250-275 bricks on each pallet and finished a total of 23 pallets. Each brick weighed around 5 lbs (we don't know exactly... and I think that's a low estimate.) Do the math. But the kids had such a great attitude about it, they were excited to get so much accomplished and wanted to do more. Day 2 we went to the home of a flood victim where we pulled a lot of weeds, cleaned stuff, moved stuff, and helped wherever we could. The 2 most memorable things from the day: pulling a rose bush, including finding all the roots deep down, and emptying jars. The rose bush was on top of a cave, which from the outside looks like a normal hill. Because of that leverage, there were several times when I was digging that I put my full weight on the shovel and my feet came completely off the ground. The kids thought it was funny and had Pastor Mark (not my mentor, but middle school Mark) take a picture of it. :) Emptying jars, the lady had about 20 or so jars with food in them that had been in her cellar for... years. Lexi (my mentor's youngest) and I got to dump these into a bucket and put them in water to be cleaned. Some of them were discernable; the tomatoes, pickles, jalapenos... some we had no idea about. The mushy, stringy stuff; one had even turned black and slightly solidified. We had to take a spoon and scoop it out. Yum. We loved every minute of it. It was awesome bonding, it was really amusing (all the screaming and grossness), and it'll be a memory we won't soon forget... ;)
The sr. retreat was also really neat. Hanging out with the outgoing and incoming seniors, seeing their love for one another, watching them serve each other, hearing their words of wisdom and affirmation, it was awesome and inspiring. I'm learning so much from this summer and getting so many ideas... this is definitely one to hang on to if I do go this route.
Yesterday we went to the Maquoketa Caves. I fell down. A lot. I got dirtier than I probably ever have been in my life (including Mexico... ) I walked through a foot and a half of mud, I crawled through a foot and a half of space, I was clausterphobic, I was scared, I was tired. It was awesome!! :)
I'm exhausted and it's only gonna get worse in the next week. But the end is near, then I'll be able to sleep. And clean my room. It'll be so good. :)
All in all, things are great. I'm loving the relationships I'm building day-by-day and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in the next 4 months. It's been a wild ride so far, but in a good way. :)
That's really about all I have, and I'm not good at ending stuff. So bye.
:) :) :) :) <---- in case there weren't enough in rest of this blog. :)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Running the Race...
So Sunday evening I got back from the 6th grade trip. Yesterday evening we had an event. In about 30 minutes I'm leaving for the middle school missions trip. Then I'm riding the bus back Wednesday night after the Palo baptism service, attending a sleepover that night, a pool party Thursday, then the Jr. Sr. retreat this weekend. Then Monday, another event. Wednesday-Wednesday both sessions of Kids Camp. That next friday, an over night lock-in (don't tell KJ, hahaha) and a canoe trip.
And I'm tired now...
The 6th grade trip was a lot of fun. We left Friday morning to go to the East Iowa Food Bank where we served all day in the ways that we could; mostly organizing stuff and packing boxes, things like that. Then on Saturday we went to Lost island, a water park, for about 8 hours... I promise I wore sunscreen, but I still got burned pretty badly. :( It doesn't hurt TOO much anymore, so that's nice. Then Sunday we attended the morning service at the church where we stayed all weekend, then went to Jess Huegel's (one of the sponsors) parents' farm where we got to play and just have some free time and stuff. It was fun, just a little tiring.
Anyways, things are pretty good. I haven't and won't have much time to myself for a few weeks, and it's really disheartening to think about... please, keep praying for rest and reliance on the Lord, for I cannot do any of it without His strength.
Much love, friends.
And I'm tired now...
The 6th grade trip was a lot of fun. We left Friday morning to go to the East Iowa Food Bank where we served all day in the ways that we could; mostly organizing stuff and packing boxes, things like that. Then on Saturday we went to Lost island, a water park, for about 8 hours... I promise I wore sunscreen, but I still got burned pretty badly. :( It doesn't hurt TOO much anymore, so that's nice. Then Sunday we attended the morning service at the church where we stayed all weekend, then went to Jess Huegel's (one of the sponsors) parents' farm where we got to play and just have some free time and stuff. It was fun, just a little tiring.
Anyways, things are pretty good. I haven't and won't have much time to myself for a few weeks, and it's really disheartening to think about... please, keep praying for rest and reliance on the Lord, for I cannot do any of it without His strength.
Much love, friends.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Mexico
Wow. What a crazy awesome adventure.
For those of you who don't know (probably most...) from July 10-19 I rode a bus for 60 hours and helped build 1 of the 3 houses our group of 50 built in Juarez, Mexico. I thought I'd sort of go through my adventures day by day, mostly for my benefit but also for yours. If you care at all. :)
Friday, July 10-Saturday, July 11:
The agenda said we were to leave the church at 7, but it was more like 7:45 by the time we pulled out. :) 7:45 pm, that is. We then proceeded to drive through the night, through the next day, and finally arrived in Albuquerque, NM around 6 or 7 where we ate at one of the few non fast-food restuarants of the trip. We then went to the University of New Mexico who graciously allowed us to use their showers, then we went to Desert Springs Church where we slept for the night.
Sunday, July 12:
We got up early enough this day to clean up all of our belongings and go to breakfast before attending the 9:00 service. I'll be honest, it was sooo nice to sit somewhere other than a bus seat at this point. :) After the service we returned to our home on wheels where we stayed for another day of driving, stopping for lunch on the road. We got to El Paso by dinner time and we were given about 2 hours to eat and shop. Some of us stayed and helped Blynda shop for our perishable food items at Sam's Club, me being one. Afterwards, Hallie, Melissa, and I proceeded to Wal-Mart to but a banana, an apple, and a bottle of juice each, plus a bag of grapes and a package of cheese. This was our dinner, and it was one of our favorite meals of the trip considering we've had almost nothing but fast-food for 2 days.
After dinner we went to the church and had a few hours until it was time for bed. Some played ultimate frisbee and I stayed and took pictures for a while. I don't remember every detail of this day, but I do remember spending a lot of time with Hallie and Melissa... oh, and we shared beds every night but 1 on the trip. 3 of us on 2 beds... that's bonding, right there. :)
Monday, July 13:
We got up at what, 5? Ish. Close to 5, and definitely no later. Packed up, loaded up, headed out. We crossed the boarder around between 6 and 6:30, and got to the SHOC (the building where we stayed) between 6:30 and 7. We were on our work sites by 7:30 at the latest. My team pored cement this morning. This consisted of shoveling lots of sand, gravel, and cement, and getting lots of buckets of water. My initial job, water, had lots of gaps between buckets. So instead of resting like a sane person, I helped the people whose jobs didn't allow for breaks. I'd shovel sand if there was a need, gravel if it's what was lacking, carry buckets if it was going too slowly. I kept losing track of how they were doing on water, so i kept forgetting to do my actual job. That's when Ron (a parent) took over the water for me. :) So now I was mainly shoveling gravel, carrying the occasional bucket of gravel so Alex would stop trying to kill himself carrying 3 at a time. Shoveling wears you out, carrying the buckets kills you... I don't know how Alex kept going. I really don't. He was amazing that day, which was just what we needed since he was by default our only runner.
We got the cement poured by 1, then went back for lunch and siesta until 5 (it's over 100 degrees at this point, they don't want us out in the hottest part of the day.) Being terrible at sleeping in spite of my 5 hours average every night of the trip, I tried twice for over an hour total and failed both times to actually fall asleep. It was sad. But I colored pictures with Hallie, Jessie, Cassie, and a few others. So it was still good. :)
After siesta we went back to the site for a few more hours to finish the day. We built walls and part of the roof. I learned this day how terrible at hammering stuff I am. It's not pretty, it's not something that should happen often, me with a hammer. :( ;)
Night time. Glorious sleep.
Tuesday, July 14:
Up at 5, back to the site by 6. Work, work, work, build, build, build! Today we put the walls up and part of the roof on. That's really all I remember... siesta this day I was saying really silly things. I mean like me, but times 5. :D I was so tired and had so much energy. You know. Nickle does, at least. ;)
This is also the night that Mark ate pudding, guacamole, cheese, sprinkles, more pudding, and more guacamole, just because he wanted to. This is my mentor; I learn from the best.
This is ALSO the day when we met our children. I didn't play with the kids very much this day, there was too much to do and too many others already slacking off that we couldn't afford it (even though my feeble efforts were no significant contribution...) But the kids come back later, no worries. Like, tomorrow. :) And I did let one little boy, a 9 year old named Yonatan help me hammer the blackboard.
Wednesday, July 15:
It's tomorrow!!!
So we get to the site by 6 again and Hallie, Cassie and I get to sift a lot of sand for stucco. Yonatan shows up around 6:30, grabs a shovel, and stops only when we do to get water, though he cannot drink our water. That was the hardest part, standing there greedily drinking our precious water every like 15 minutes while he has none for hours. I hated to not be able to give him any, more than anything. Even more than I hated not being able to communicate much with him.
All morning this little boy and some relatives helped us stucco the house, he even helped smooth it afterwards. He also followed us to the SHOC at lunch, but he was not allowed to come in, sadly. That broke my heart, that he followed us home but we couldn't even let him come in and sit down.
When we came back after siesta the kids came again. Apart from those drywalling inside, there was nothing else that really needed done, so we got to play with the kids!!!!!!!!!!!
Yonatan was my child. I bet you never saw that coming, huh? He didn't want to sit on other people's laps, he wanted to sit on MY lap. He wanted to give ME hugs, and plenty of them. I've never hugged someone I just met more than this child. We couldn't really communicate in words, but with my insanely limited espanol we were able to communicate on the most basic level possible. We didn't really need words anyways, we had laughter and smiles and hugs to say all we needed to.
The kids had to leave after about 2 hours, and we finally had a bit of work to do again. About an hour before we left, Yonatan came back for less than a minute. He gave Hallie a hug, me a hug, Hallie another hug, and me another hug. I said to him, "asta manana!" (Not sure I spelled it right, but I know how to say it...) and he looked up at me with huge, hopeful eyes and said "manana?" I said "si, si!!!" Then he ran home.
That was the last time I saw him.
That night we had tacos for dinner. I don't remember the conversation I had at all, not a word, not a topic. Nothing. All I remember is Hall and Hallie, Hallie leaving after about 30 minutes, and taking about 60-90 minutes to eat a meal I could normally have gone in 20. We could not stop laughing, Hall, Hallie, and I. Then just Hall and I when Hallie left. At what, I wish I could remember... this is how tired we all were. It. Was. Awesome. :)
Thursday, July 16:
We dedicated the houses this morning, handed over the keys and said goodbye to our families. It was joyous, sad, and awesome all at the same time. The family was very thankful and it was great to see the hope in their faces.
We had some debreifing before we left, and then took off to return to El Paso where we got to SHOWER FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE SUNDAY. Yeah, we were all pretty disgusting at this point, us SPAMS at least. (Smelly People Against Mexican Showers.) :) It was great to be clean, I had forgotten what it felt like.
The rest of the time was travelling, going to the Carlsbad Caverns, playing hours and hours and hours of mafia on that bus, and sleeping sometimes. I also developed a cold, but I was so greatful it wasn't while we were in Mexico. I still have a cough, but I'm nearly over it. :)
So the trip was awesome. The bus was the worst and best part, if that's possible. It's where all the bonding and relationship building happened, and I for one am glad for the experience.
I have more words, so many more words, but I leave for the 6th grade trip at 9 am, and I'm still recovering.
Prayer requests:
-Rest. I'm busy for about the next 3 weeks straight, and the rest I get will be less than desired. Please pray that it's enough to sustain me, and that I'll continue to look to God for the strength to make it through the day.
-Relationships. That I can continue to build relationships here with the students and sponsors, as well as my relationship with mentor, that it'll be open and we'll communicate (we're sometimes lacking in that area.) ALSO for relationships at home, that I won't neglect or take any of those for granted.
-Safety. For all the trips, in all their travels that they will be safe and in God's hands.
-Unspoken. There's a student that really just needs your prayers... I wish I could tell you more, but that's all I feel I can say. Please, please pray for her as well as the rest of the students at New Covenant, that the teaching and the service and the worship might have a whole new meaning and will change their lives eternally.
-Those in poverty. That they may have hope, that those us of us who have so much might feel burdened to make a difference.
-Lastly, it's not a personal request but one I frequently feel burdened for. Please pray for those involved in human trafficking, particularly the sex trafficking industry. That the ones bought and sold might have hope and not lose their dignity, that those doing the buying and selling might see their "products" as men and women made in the image of our Creator. That they will look to our Father and not see someone who has abandoned them, but someone who loves them and is constantly reaching out for them.
Thank you friends.
Please don't hesitate to let me know how I can pray for you!
Much love,
Amanda
For those of you who don't know (probably most...) from July 10-19 I rode a bus for 60 hours and helped build 1 of the 3 houses our group of 50 built in Juarez, Mexico. I thought I'd sort of go through my adventures day by day, mostly for my benefit but also for yours. If you care at all. :)
Friday, July 10-Saturday, July 11:
The agenda said we were to leave the church at 7, but it was more like 7:45 by the time we pulled out. :) 7:45 pm, that is. We then proceeded to drive through the night, through the next day, and finally arrived in Albuquerque, NM around 6 or 7 where we ate at one of the few non fast-food restuarants of the trip. We then went to the University of New Mexico who graciously allowed us to use their showers, then we went to Desert Springs Church where we slept for the night.
Sunday, July 12:
We got up early enough this day to clean up all of our belongings and go to breakfast before attending the 9:00 service. I'll be honest, it was sooo nice to sit somewhere other than a bus seat at this point. :) After the service we returned to our home on wheels where we stayed for another day of driving, stopping for lunch on the road. We got to El Paso by dinner time and we were given about 2 hours to eat and shop. Some of us stayed and helped Blynda shop for our perishable food items at Sam's Club, me being one. Afterwards, Hallie, Melissa, and I proceeded to Wal-Mart to but a banana, an apple, and a bottle of juice each, plus a bag of grapes and a package of cheese. This was our dinner, and it was one of our favorite meals of the trip considering we've had almost nothing but fast-food for 2 days.
After dinner we went to the church and had a few hours until it was time for bed. Some played ultimate frisbee and I stayed and took pictures for a while. I don't remember every detail of this day, but I do remember spending a lot of time with Hallie and Melissa... oh, and we shared beds every night but 1 on the trip. 3 of us on 2 beds... that's bonding, right there. :)
Monday, July 13:
We got up at what, 5? Ish. Close to 5, and definitely no later. Packed up, loaded up, headed out. We crossed the boarder around between 6 and 6:30, and got to the SHOC (the building where we stayed) between 6:30 and 7. We were on our work sites by 7:30 at the latest. My team pored cement this morning. This consisted of shoveling lots of sand, gravel, and cement, and getting lots of buckets of water. My initial job, water, had lots of gaps between buckets. So instead of resting like a sane person, I helped the people whose jobs didn't allow for breaks. I'd shovel sand if there was a need, gravel if it's what was lacking, carry buckets if it was going too slowly. I kept losing track of how they were doing on water, so i kept forgetting to do my actual job. That's when Ron (a parent) took over the water for me. :) So now I was mainly shoveling gravel, carrying the occasional bucket of gravel so Alex would stop trying to kill himself carrying 3 at a time. Shoveling wears you out, carrying the buckets kills you... I don't know how Alex kept going. I really don't. He was amazing that day, which was just what we needed since he was by default our only runner.
We got the cement poured by 1, then went back for lunch and siesta until 5 (it's over 100 degrees at this point, they don't want us out in the hottest part of the day.) Being terrible at sleeping in spite of my 5 hours average every night of the trip, I tried twice for over an hour total and failed both times to actually fall asleep. It was sad. But I colored pictures with Hallie, Jessie, Cassie, and a few others. So it was still good. :)
After siesta we went back to the site for a few more hours to finish the day. We built walls and part of the roof. I learned this day how terrible at hammering stuff I am. It's not pretty, it's not something that should happen often, me with a hammer. :( ;)
Night time. Glorious sleep.
Tuesday, July 14:
Up at 5, back to the site by 6. Work, work, work, build, build, build! Today we put the walls up and part of the roof on. That's really all I remember... siesta this day I was saying really silly things. I mean like me, but times 5. :D I was so tired and had so much energy. You know. Nickle does, at least. ;)
This is also the night that Mark ate pudding, guacamole, cheese, sprinkles, more pudding, and more guacamole, just because he wanted to. This is my mentor; I learn from the best.
This is ALSO the day when we met our children. I didn't play with the kids very much this day, there was too much to do and too many others already slacking off that we couldn't afford it (even though my feeble efforts were no significant contribution...) But the kids come back later, no worries. Like, tomorrow. :) And I did let one little boy, a 9 year old named Yonatan help me hammer the blackboard.
Wednesday, July 15:
It's tomorrow!!!
So we get to the site by 6 again and Hallie, Cassie and I get to sift a lot of sand for stucco. Yonatan shows up around 6:30, grabs a shovel, and stops only when we do to get water, though he cannot drink our water. That was the hardest part, standing there greedily drinking our precious water every like 15 minutes while he has none for hours. I hated to not be able to give him any, more than anything. Even more than I hated not being able to communicate much with him.
All morning this little boy and some relatives helped us stucco the house, he even helped smooth it afterwards. He also followed us to the SHOC at lunch, but he was not allowed to come in, sadly. That broke my heart, that he followed us home but we couldn't even let him come in and sit down.
When we came back after siesta the kids came again. Apart from those drywalling inside, there was nothing else that really needed done, so we got to play with the kids!!!!!!!!!!!
Yonatan was my child. I bet you never saw that coming, huh? He didn't want to sit on other people's laps, he wanted to sit on MY lap. He wanted to give ME hugs, and plenty of them. I've never hugged someone I just met more than this child. We couldn't really communicate in words, but with my insanely limited espanol we were able to communicate on the most basic level possible. We didn't really need words anyways, we had laughter and smiles and hugs to say all we needed to.
The kids had to leave after about 2 hours, and we finally had a bit of work to do again. About an hour before we left, Yonatan came back for less than a minute. He gave Hallie a hug, me a hug, Hallie another hug, and me another hug. I said to him, "asta manana!" (Not sure I spelled it right, but I know how to say it...) and he looked up at me with huge, hopeful eyes and said "manana?" I said "si, si!!!" Then he ran home.
That was the last time I saw him.
That night we had tacos for dinner. I don't remember the conversation I had at all, not a word, not a topic. Nothing. All I remember is Hall and Hallie, Hallie leaving after about 30 minutes, and taking about 60-90 minutes to eat a meal I could normally have gone in 20. We could not stop laughing, Hall, Hallie, and I. Then just Hall and I when Hallie left. At what, I wish I could remember... this is how tired we all were. It. Was. Awesome. :)
Thursday, July 16:
We dedicated the houses this morning, handed over the keys and said goodbye to our families. It was joyous, sad, and awesome all at the same time. The family was very thankful and it was great to see the hope in their faces.
We had some debreifing before we left, and then took off to return to El Paso where we got to SHOWER FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE SUNDAY. Yeah, we were all pretty disgusting at this point, us SPAMS at least. (Smelly People Against Mexican Showers.) :) It was great to be clean, I had forgotten what it felt like.
The rest of the time was travelling, going to the Carlsbad Caverns, playing hours and hours and hours of mafia on that bus, and sleeping sometimes. I also developed a cold, but I was so greatful it wasn't while we were in Mexico. I still have a cough, but I'm nearly over it. :)
So the trip was awesome. The bus was the worst and best part, if that's possible. It's where all the bonding and relationship building happened, and I for one am glad for the experience.
I have more words, so many more words, but I leave for the 6th grade trip at 9 am, and I'm still recovering.
Prayer requests:
-Rest. I'm busy for about the next 3 weeks straight, and the rest I get will be less than desired. Please pray that it's enough to sustain me, and that I'll continue to look to God for the strength to make it through the day.
-Relationships. That I can continue to build relationships here with the students and sponsors, as well as my relationship with mentor, that it'll be open and we'll communicate (we're sometimes lacking in that area.) ALSO for relationships at home, that I won't neglect or take any of those for granted.
-Safety. For all the trips, in all their travels that they will be safe and in God's hands.
-Unspoken. There's a student that really just needs your prayers... I wish I could tell you more, but that's all I feel I can say. Please, please pray for her as well as the rest of the students at New Covenant, that the teaching and the service and the worship might have a whole new meaning and will change their lives eternally.
-Those in poverty. That they may have hope, that those us of us who have so much might feel burdened to make a difference.
-Lastly, it's not a personal request but one I frequently feel burdened for. Please pray for those involved in human trafficking, particularly the sex trafficking industry. That the ones bought and sold might have hope and not lose their dignity, that those doing the buying and selling might see their "products" as men and women made in the image of our Creator. That they will look to our Father and not see someone who has abandoned them, but someone who loves them and is constantly reaching out for them.
Thank you friends.
Please don't hesitate to let me know how I can pray for you!
Much love,
Amanda
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Love Wins.
This weekend is an exciting one for Cedar Rapids; Healing the Heartland has been taking place on this, the one year anniversary of the flood that cost many their homes. The city is still rebuilding and the devastation can still be seen in certain parts of town. Many that have lost everything are still trying to restart their lives, and are losing hope. This festival, which started last night, is to encourage flood victims and lead the lost to Christ, for them to find hope in these dark times of life. It's also just a lot of fun. :)
Last night there were about 25 (I believe) different locations in the city that hosted a barbecue for several hours, free to anyone that wanted it. I was at the one at the park near New Covenant, helping the Eades family run the snow cone machine. It rained. It was cold. I got wet. Very, very wet. For about two hours we were outside serving snow cones to anyone and everyone, and surprisingly, many people still wanted one, despite the cold and rain. We didn't stop until we ran out of ice. It was awesome.
Tonight there was a free concert: David Phelps, Barlow Girl, and Newsboys. It lasted for about 5 hours. I was in the front row the entire time, and the funny thing was that I got there maybe 15 minutes before it started. It was the best concert of my life. (Ha, because I've been to sooo many to compare. Just kidding.) :)
Tomorrow there are some more activities after church which I will be attending. Then it'll be back to normal life--well, as normal as summertime is in youth ministry. :)
So things here are great. The people are still wonderful, I really have no complaints. I feel totally blessed to be here, and I truely believe I'm here because God wants me to be. I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! For now, it's sleepy time.
Much love,
Amanda
Last night there were about 25 (I believe) different locations in the city that hosted a barbecue for several hours, free to anyone that wanted it. I was at the one at the park near New Covenant, helping the Eades family run the snow cone machine. It rained. It was cold. I got wet. Very, very wet. For about two hours we were outside serving snow cones to anyone and everyone, and surprisingly, many people still wanted one, despite the cold and rain. We didn't stop until we ran out of ice. It was awesome.
Tonight there was a free concert: David Phelps, Barlow Girl, and Newsboys. It lasted for about 5 hours. I was in the front row the entire time, and the funny thing was that I got there maybe 15 minutes before it started. It was the best concert of my life. (Ha, because I've been to sooo many to compare. Just kidding.) :)
Tomorrow there are some more activities after church which I will be attending. Then it'll be back to normal life--well, as normal as summertime is in youth ministry. :)
So things here are great. The people are still wonderful, I really have no complaints. I feel totally blessed to be here, and I truely believe I'm here because God wants me to be. I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! For now, it's sleepy time.
Much love,
Amanda
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