Some thoughts...

   The more and more I am here the more and more I just keep liking it. I am loving doing stuff with the kids club. The kids are adorable and they are learning so much stuff and we are reaching and spending time with them in their lives. There are so many things here that I have been doing that I feel like I could be called to do but yet I just don't know. With time a lot of these things will show me their path.
   I am learning and seeing what it feels like to live with three girls and spend like 24 hours a day together and do everything together. I am trying to get used to it. It is a change in my life because I like my independence and alone time but it is an experience that I am learning and dealing with. I love these girls and they have such wonderful hearts. I cannot wait to be home and see everyone and hang out with them.
   I don't know. I had so many thoughts that I wanted to talk about but now I am super super tired. Needless to say this has been a very different month for me in many different ways. With good friends back home to talk to and people here and God I have made it through and it has been good.

To be a tribe leader and...

   Time is definitely still flying by. I have no time to really blog or do much outside of work anymore. But that is a good thing though. Means I am working a lot and that means that I will be getting more work done.
   lets see...
   saturday...
       I went and worked for most of the day. In the morning we passed out flyers that were promoting the fresh produce market for the kroc center. We walked the neighborhood of Jefferson (this is in downtown atlanta) and talked to the neighbors and handed them fliers. There were a lot of abandoned and vacant houses. There were also some really neat people there. I really liked meeting all of them. I loved walking through the neighborhood. I even found a few houses I would totally move into. Then we had lunch with Jason. Then came the second part of our work day. We were having a volleyball game thing. We cleaned up the volleyball court and played a few games with the kids. It was a pretty good day. Tiring but good.
   Sunday...
       I went to church at 9am with Josh Knapp and Jenn Moya. We went to this church called Buckhead Church or something. It is for sure a mega church. I really liked it though. After you get past all the glamour of the church they truly have a good message and I really liked it. Not sure the hugeness of it was my favorite but the message was good. The preacher came to us via a video feed from his other church. But the way they had it setup i almost felt like he could be in the room. The music was awesome but it did sort of have a feel of a concert. But I would go back again. Actually I wish that I could go back again but I don't think that there is enough time to.
       Then I went to temple for church later. We then took jenn to the airport so she could catch her flight to costa rica. I will miss her and hope that costa rica treats her well. We then proceeded to hang out with kids and then we went to sunday service there at the temple. It was good.
    Monday...
        Twas not too bad of a day. We were in the office the whole day and did projects. I worked on writing an article and doing some research for jason. Then we went and helped out with the vbs that temple was hosting. after vbs we went over to michelle and josh's house and we had dinner and watch the bacchelorate(?). Monday was not too bad.
    Today...
        Today was crazy. I got some more of a project assigned to me. I get to in the end write a proposal for a possible project in the future. I am quite excited about that. Then we had kids club. Today our numbers were down a bit. We had about 22 kids but it is summer and less kids will come. Kids club was crazy and it was good. We had some fun. Then we had vbs directly after that tonight. I was tired but the kids did well tonight. Made me kind of like being a tribe leader tonight as to what it was the night before. Then we had dinner here at home and then we are having a movie night at this very moment. Twas a long and tiring day. Tomorow consists of this same busyness.

busy busy

Sorry I have not been posting. I have been busy. Tonight I will try and get a post out.

As time flies by

   This past week has flown by so fast but yet in the moments it was a slow process. This past week I got to do a big variety of things. I worked in the office doing research and projects. Those are going well. I am down to writing my two articles and doing a bit more research. Then we worked with street grace on wednesday and we helped out with this foster care clothing place. Here at this place they have TONS TONS TONS TONS of clothes. I am not exaggerating. They will let new foster parents come and get clothes for their foster kids. They get about 8 outfits, shoes, swimsuit, pjs, socks, underwear, backpack, and toys. They supply the parents with anything that they will need. I think that this is an awesome idea to do. Someday it would be sweet to do something like this. It just helps so many people and allows the kids to feel like they do belong and that people do truly care and want to provide for them. 

    We have been spending a lot of time with the kids at temple and that has been fun. They are cute and the ministry the salvation army is doing is awesome. They are truly touching kids lives.

    Then we have been doing kids club. It is going really well. We reached having 40 kids yesterday. We started with 22. So we are growing and that is an awesome thing. I am getting to know the kids more and I am liking going more. I am building relationships with the kids and being able to get closer with them. I have been teaching and doing games off and on. It is fun and I just like it. Yesterday I taught the kids about Nehemiah and how he had patience and faithfulness and rebuilt the wall of jerusalem. The kids responded well and we had good games to go along with the story. I am sad that as we have each club that mean that it is one less time that I will get to see the kids. My days are dwindling down here already. I have definitely learned a lot and have kept really busy. I would be in no objection to staying here the rest of the summer but I would miss everyone back home too much. I have made some new friends that I will be sad to leave too but that is two more weeks away so I am not going to keep thinking about it.

     This has been a good idea for me to come down here. I am learning a lot and God is revealing to me in strange ways some of the things he wants for my life. With some of this stuff I am confused. I am not sure how I am going to do it or if it is merely me wanting to overfill my life and try and do everything. I want to work with kids that is all i know. And i have learned about some of the things I can do withinn social work and in this case in the future it all depends where I live too. Regardless of all of that, I am truly liking it here. I just wish that all the trials and tribulations that he has placed in my life here and at home would not cause so much worry and doubt. But this is gods way of strengthening me. He says I am the strongest in him when I am weak. When I allow him to fill me I know that everything will work out and he will show me the plan he has for my life.

Start here or there. . . You tell me.

   These past week and weekend has gotten me thinking. As I am here, I know that this is a God thing that I am here in atlanta at this point. He has a plan for me here and I am trying to figure this out. I have had the chance to learn alot about human trafficking and we are going to be working with a organization and doing stuff with it. I am thoroughly excited about it. I have feelings that I just really miss the deep connection I am used to being around but I am also feeling that there is something here for me and I am mainly concentrating on work and on the children. Seeing the creeper made all of this seem so super real to me. I just want to stay here for the rest of my life and work here. I have had the opportunity to work with tons of kids and impact their lives. To me it is all about the children. I find that when I think about all the money and the logistical stuff of it all I wonder why I am here. Then I go and see the children and learn about these things going on and all I wanna do is stand up and fix it. So now I am just confused and upset about how somethings are going on now but I can see that I am here for a specific reason and that it will be worth it all in the end. Makes me think. . . God works in many mysterious and strange ways. I just need to wait and have faith. He is the one that I need to hold onto. He is my protector and savior.

A Homemade dinner and good company

   On Saturday, I went and hung out with Christy and Lindsey at Centennial Park. We went and walked around the park. It was such a nice day out. I liked walking around and we went and watched the fountains. The kids running through the fountains were so stinkin' cute. It was just the perfect temperature out to be walking around and at centennial park. As we were watching the little kiddos I saw a creeper. He looked like he would be a creeper. He was taking videos of the kids and was looking all creepy. I just wanted to go up to him and tell him to stop being a creep. As I sat there and saw him it made the child exploitation problem more real to me. I was able to visualize and see just what it may look like. It disturbed me. I wanna do so much to help the kids and prevent something like this from happening. Then we went over to jason's house and had a bonfire. He made hamburgers and we had smores later. It was fun and it was good food. I like spending time with the popes, lindsey, and matt. When did travel home though we caught a lot of traffic and it took 4 times as long to get home. But we made it home safe. I had a restless night last night. But it was a good day.
   Today, we went to church at the KROC center. I was super excited to go back. It was awesome and I loved it. I got to see some people that I missed dearly. Then came lunch with the popes and then we headed to temple. We spent some time with the kids and we played UNO and ping pong with them. Then we went out to eat with josh and the kids and then came back for Light on the Hill. Light on the hill was good tonight. I really liked it. Then the rest of the night I have just been chilling. It has been a pretty good weekend. Hoping this week of crazy work goes well.

Warm Air and A Water Cooler

   Yesterday was not too bad of a day. We spent the first half of the day in the office. I met with Jason and we discussed the stuff that I was doing. We talked and he is working with us and trying to help us get what we can get out of this internship. So he is starting to gear project more in the frame of what our talents and interests are. I am still going to be writing two articles about kids and human trafficking but I am now mainly working with doing a photovoice and also doing some research and help with Jason's uganda trip. As time goes we will get more projects.
   Then we went and did Kids Club at Parke Towne North. I was teaching the lesson and we talked about Family. I told them the story of Joseph and his dream and how his brothers sold him. We had questions afterwards and talked about how we need to respect our families. The kids had awesome answers and did an awesome job. We played soccer and it was hot out. So the kids attention span was short but we got what we needed done. We ran out of cups for our water so we went and poured the water in their mouths and at the end just dumped the rest of the water on them. They loved it.

   Today we spent most of the day at the office. I worked on researching info for an article on human trafficking. Then i also started working on stuff for uganda for jason. I researched and learned some stuff about uganda and looked for some articles for him. I am really interested in this stuff.
   I am just more and more excited about doing this stuff. I love learning the human trafficking and working on the the photovoice. These things interest me greatly. I love this stuff. I am learning stuff and i am seeing where I can fit my passion of this into some sort of a job. I feel more and more like this is where I am suppose to be this month. I have been doubting but now seeing the kids and teaching them and researching and doing stuff for bigger projects that are going to help so many people just makes me jump up and down inside. I am also really interested in the stop the candyshop stuff. I am glad that I took this opportunity. Sad that we only have three more weeks left. I am going to make the best of my time here.
    While i am having tons of fun I am missing you all back home. There are countless times where I wish I could sit and talk to you guys. When I get back I want to see all of you and catch up. I miss you all tons tons tons. Hoping you have a good weekend. I am excited to be able to relax.

A New Day

   Today was a pretty good day. We went and worked in the office all day. We had a meeting where we talked with jason and got some things to do. They are all mainly communication stuff. So my writing skills will for sure need to be improved and i will need to stop getting writers block. But overall I am excited about the projects and hope they turn out well.
   We also talked money again. I am still short for my trip at this point. But he says there are a few checks that need to be entered into the system so that should hopefully take me up a bit. Money is so tight and i have it.
   After work we went and hung out at temple and played with kids. Then we went and hung out with Ali and Josh. It was a pretty good time.
   My thoughts were with my dad. He was in a wreck earlier today and he is safe. I just know how much a wreck can ruin a persons day and shake them up a bit. I am so glad that he is safe and I hope that the car wil hold up and be good for his drive home from the seminars tomorow night. I love him and am glad that God was looking out for him and making this a minor accident in the ways of him being safe. I love him and cannot wait to see him when I get back in June.
   Tomorow we have kids club again. I am teaching tomorow. Pray I find the words to say to the kids and that is runs smoothly tomorow. The day will be good. I will make it good. I will not allow all of these other things to keep me down.

The Little Kiddos

   Today was a surprisingly fantastic day. We started the day off by meeting with the people of street grace. Street grace is a ministry that is working to prevent the exploitation of children in the atlanta area. They are going national this fall. I loved meeting with them today and really really really want to work with them. I have such a burning passion to help those who are in cases such as these. I will do whatever I can do help them and become involved in a ministry such as this. Here are two websites to look at for them.
   http://stopthecandyshop.com/
   http://streetgrace.org/
   In addition to doing that today we went and worked at DHQ a bit. We got some paperwork and all that done pretty much. We also decorated our intern office a bit. It is sweet. Then we headed over to Temple and got everything together for Kids Club.
    Oh my goodness. All my nervousness was for nothing. Kids club went well today. We had 22 kids show up for the first day and things ran pretty smooth. I did games today and Jenn did lesson. Jenn will be gone for part of our kids clubs so that leaves me and ali to take care of and do kids club with 22+ kids. But it will be good. I think i am teaching on thursday. I am hoping that goes well. I need to look at my lesson and start thinking about what I want to say and what craft and games we should do. today we just went and talked about identity and ourselves and we played soccer. the kids loved it.
   I met some of the cutest kids. We played this name game that helped not only us but the kids learn each others names. I have already gotten close to a few of the girls and boys. I walked one of the girls home today. I got to know her a bit better as I walked down the long way to her apartment. I loved it. It made my day so much more awesome. Even though it was warm, I really enjoyed it all.
    Then after work we went out to dinner with Jason Pope and his wife. We got to see his new daughter Sydney. She is a cutie. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and then we went out and looked around Borders. It was a good night. I am super exhausted from today but this is what I truly came back to atlanta for...the kids and the exploitation ministry. I am super excited and nervous for both. So many good things will happen out of this. I pray everything with me, home, here, the kids, and everyone we encounter goes well. Tomorrow we work at DHQ all day. Then head out to Temple in the evening. Until tomorow. . .

Orientation

   Today we had orientation of all that we are going to be doing. We went through so much stuff. Our day started in the office of Jason Pope. We filled out a novel of papers and talked money. It was thoroughly confusing and I know that it will make sense eventually. I sure hope so. We got to see our office. It is a room with two tables, 4 chairs, 4 internet cables and that is pretty much it. not too fancy but, we are interns so what can we expect. We are making some decorations to put in our office. I think it will turn out good. Then we got into what our schedule would look like. It will be long days but not too bad. To make things short:
      we will be working at DHQ doing some things off a list of things Jason wants us to do. In addition to that, we will be working and doing kids club in an apartment complex. We will do this twice a week for a few hours at a time. So we will be planning bible stories, crafts, and games for the kids. We are also doing a volleyball clinic once a week. We are also going to be working with the homeless ministry at temple with ali. We will be doing quite a bit. We will be working with and doing lots of stuff at Temple on Wednesdays and Sundays. We will be busy.
   I am still not sure about this. After hearing about all that we are going to be doing, I am kind of nervous about all of this. I am not sure if I am feeling like i would not do a good job, I think it is just that I don't truly know how everything is going to turn out. I am also very worried about money. I just want to be my best for the kids and not mess up any of the things that I am asked to do this month. I need to just let them happen as they happen and be prepared for it all. I just feel like we are spending spending spending. I cannot afford to do this. I feel like I am paying out more than I am going to get paid at this point. I just wish we could all be simple and not spend as much. It just makes more sense. but oh well. I am part of a team and have to go with it. It will all work out and all my worries will go away. Everything here and home will be good and work out the way that it is supposed to. I just need to keep this in mind.
   Twas truly a long day and I am completely nervous for this first time with these kids tomorow. I love them and know it will all change when i get to see the kids. I just don't want the kids club to go wrong because i am not prepared. But it will get done and I will love the kids and the kids will love us. Prayers would be greatly appreciated. Prayers that we can reach these kids and guide them in a manner that they will follow. That we can relational with them and touch their lives. Tis the beginning of an busy fun month. Here we go. . .

Temple...the salvation army church

   This morning I got the chance to go to Temple, a salvation army church. It was a very different experience for me. Well then I went out to lunch with friends and then went to church later also. Then met up with Vicki to go to this awesome frozen yogurt place and then went grocery shopping. But the church thing, It was very very different from my church. At my church we feel more laid back and the church is more contemporary. But at the salvation army church, it is more traditional and i almost feel like I need to be super proper when I am there. They do things very different. The music is more of a brass band. When we sang hymns, we sang them with the brass and not just the piano. It was a change. I am not sure how i feel about it. It is good to see how the different denominations do these things and I am using this as a learning experience. I do things it would be neat to get into the salvation army someday so I am going to see how I like it this month that I am here. I did enjoy today though and cannot wait to start things with Jason here in atlanta tomorrow morning...well i guess you can say later this morning. lol. But the internship has been worth it so far. I do miss home and friends a lot but i get to see them in June. I miss you guys. I will be home shortly. Till tomorow. . .

Youth Worker Conference in Florida and Resort

   This past week I got the incredible chance to be down in Orlando, Florida. While I was there I did not have access to internet so I am going to talk about the whole week in this post.

   On Sunday we drove most of the day down from atlanta to orlando. It was a long drive but we got there and I was glad to get there. Then as soon as we got there we did work unloading and did some work. We broke for dinner where we went to Friendly's and had awesome food. Then came back did a bit more work and got some rest. I am for sure going to have to get used to the warm weather. I am not used to this but I was glad to be in orlando.
   On monday, we started the pre-conference. This consisted of us working the registration table and giving the people nametags. There were a lot of other random things that they had the "interns" do. We  no longer had names. lol. But then I was told that I am helping work the bookstore for the week. so all day the people are in meetings and then tonight the main conference starts and we have main session. I worked the bookstore then. Our first and my most favorite speaker was Doug Fields. He did an awesome job. We also had April Barron sing for us. She is awesome. I sat by the laguna by our room and just thought. It was beautiful and i really liked it. I was excited to be there and could not wait to see what the next full day of the conference would show.
   On Tuesday, we set up a lot of rooms and got to sit in on sessions. I chose to sit in on the helping hurting kids session lead by Marv Penner. He did an awesome job and I learned a lot. I got really excited about social work and helping hurting kids because of this. I really want to go out and do stuff now. It was a busy day between sitting in sessions, setting up rooms, and helping run the bookstore. But it was a good day.
   On Wednesday, it was a crazy craze day. We had so much to do. There were a lot of conference rooms that we had to reset. But we got it all done. We were not really able to sit in on any of the session stuff but I did run the bookstore some. I was tired by the end of the day but it was a good day overall. For dinner, we went out to eat with a few of the people who we were working the conference with. It was good. Then to bed.

   On thursday, it was our last day of the conference. We had one general session and then were done to set down everything and get it all packed up. We did that and went out to lunch then. Then our group headed back to atlanta and we headed to the resort in orlando. One of the girls parents paid for us to stay at their timeshare for a few days. So we moved into that and started to relax a bit. It was a gorgeous place. That night we went to Downtown Disney also. It was so neat. I like orlando. Knowing that the conference was over was sad but it is nice to know that we don't have to worry about it also. We got back from downtown disney and rested a bit.
   On friday, we were still at the resort. We sat by the pool a bit and had dinner at the hotel. Then we headed to Magic Kingdom with the free tickets someone from the salvation army gave us. When we got there they were closing so we went to MGM Hollywood. It was still really cool and I really liked it. It was a good first time at a Disney place. We watched the Fantasmic show and that was SWEET!! I wanna go back someday.
   On Saturday, we hung around the resort a bit and then headed and drove back to Atlanta. That is pretty much all we did.
   The conference was good. I am glad we got to intern on it and meet so many neat people. Oh and florida and me....equals...bad sunburn.
oh and there are pictures on facebook for this trip.