Movement!

God is doing some great things in me this week. I am learning a lot about trusting him directly. God put some things on my heart this morning that I need to explore some more, but it put into context a lot of what has been going on in my life in and outside of my greaterworks experience. For a long time I have placed a second hand trust in God. I trust people who trust God, so I assume that means I trust God.. but to be honest.. I don't know if I've ever had bedrock faith in God. Its scary to be that intimate with such a loving God. Scary to be that open. So its an exploration for the future months. It was a huge move this morning to finally feel like I am at a place where I have no alternative. No friend to trust in the "stead" of Christ himself. I am here doing the work God has called me to. I am feeding the poor like he does, I am receiving his daily bread myself. God provides in amazing ways that I hadn't seen until this morning as the sun was rising over the barrio. Ahh.. so anyway I still have a lot to process and there will be more to come. But wholeness is rushing in, and a peace I've never felt before..

I posted some pics on my other blog...

www.agiggledivine.blogspot.com

The Beginning.

Tomorrow is a beginning for me. Other than one meeting with the orphanage director in the morning I am starting my weekly schedule that will last for the year.

Monday: Spend time with Peggy and the ladies doing Costura (sewing projects)
Tuesday: Help with the kids at the women's bible study (some of the same women), work on support letters.
Wednesday: Comedor (soup kitchen) with Hermana Jenny and the other interns, bring hermana jenny back to El Paso and run errands in the states
Thursday: Work at the Orphanage (hopefully), spend time at home or with community, Team time
Friday: Spend the day in El Paso working on school stuff at UTEP library,
Saturday: Morning Kids Comedor at La Puerta, Evening Youth time with Site 2 people.
Sunday: Sleep in, Church at La Puerta, Cleaning, Church at Maranata and Fellowship time.

Its a little less daunting when I spell it out like that rather than last post.. hahah.. sorry if it is redundant :)

Friday night Carlos invited us to a concert and we showed up not sure what to expect. It was awesome! It was a street concert near Site 2 and it was a Christian show. The guys from La Puerta and Carlos' brother plus another band played. It was so much fun to see life in youth and in a Christian setting. They did a bunch of crazy fun worship songs and there was some awesome dancing and playing, lots of jumping etc. I am going to post some pics and videos later this afternoon. Hurrah!

Update: Support Letters will be out this week! To those of you expecting one sorry it took so long!

We are trying to finalize our schedules. It has been such a whirlwind exploring the city, meeting new people, and finally feeling like I am starting to build some relationships in the community as well as renew old ones from my summer a few years ago.. This week becky and I are house sitting for Jim and Peggy, missionaries, couple who works down here. I am hoping to plug in with Peggy and the ministry they started called Broken Hearts. It works with women teaching them how to do embroidery and then Peggy, in conjunction with their home church and other contacts, sell the items giving the money back to the women. It is a neat ministry not just because it helps families, but because it offers an escape for some of these women. There is a house in our community that a family moved out of but they don't want to sell it yet so they are letting Jim and Peggy use it for the ministry. Almost all day Monday, Tuesday for bible study, and a few other times a week the house is open to anyone who wants to come in and sew. Women from the community can just come to hang out, or work on their pieces. Becky and I have been working with them during hte bible study to help with the kids so the women can attend the bible study. I am going to start spending my Monday's over at the house with the women, maybe learning to sew some, and helping Peggy with some of the organizational aspects of the ministry. I am excited to learn about how it works, and build relationships with some of these women. A lot of the women go to La Puerta for church on Sunday, and others join us at the comedor to either help cook or attend the service. Becky and I are also helping with a new Kid's Comedor (soup kitchen) at La Puerta on Sunday. So I'll be pretty invested here at Site One. I am also looking to spend some time at site five with the orphanage out there, but we keep missing the director. We are all also going to start working with Site 2 as they develop a youth group, and then hang out with them Sunday nights for soccer of course. Man when I type it all out like this it seems like a lot, but really it leaves a lot of time to relax, reflect and hang out in the community.

On another note I am really starting to feel comfortable in the city again. It took me a few days for culture shock to settle in and pass.. not entirely of course but its nice to feel like I have my bearings. My biggest problem has been learning the city and border routines enough to get around without other people. I am making it a priority to learn learn learn how to get around. I don't want to get lost and then panic.. especially since landmarks don't really help yet. Turn right at the micho.. or turn left at Del Rio.. there are a billion of those.. You know the glorieta? You know 16th of Sept Street? Where it turns into a backwards one way? OR the street where they built a new speed bump? hahah.. seriously.. It will happen soon enough.. I can get to Site 2, Site 5 (I think), Jim and Peggy's, the women's bible study, La Puerta, Juanita's in El Paso and back, to S-mart/Gonzalez/Laundromat.. WOOT.

Yucks.

Sorry I haven't posted much. Things have been pretty busy, then I got the stomach bug this weekend so I have been fighting off mama mexico. yuck. I am off to church now too so I'll post later but here is a link to where my pics will be on facebook:




http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065004&l=a4c9a&id=54600030

Bienvenidos a Juarez!

Hey guys! I am in a coffee shop in El Paso right now but we made it safely to Juarez the other day.. much to our sadness the phone/internet bill wasn't paid so our internet was down. We are here in El Paso taking care of some business things.. we should cross back into Mexico later this evening and head to a Mexican Fiesta for the 16th of September party at la Iglesia Maranata which is where I lived last time in Juarez. It has been great seeing everyone and reconnecting. i feel pretty vividly like the gringa but I am ok with it.. My roommates are awesome and I am excited for a great year! I will update more asap once we get internet up and working! Lata! Pictures coming soon!

Minneapolis... Trains Trains and oh geez.

I made it to training! I had a blast traveling all day on Saturday via train.. The first train was boring but I got a lot of reading done. The second was an absolute blast meeting lots of cool people and getting the chance to just hang out with people. I showed up in Minneapolis to see all sorts of people from my YW summer and we ofcourse had pizookie and then crashed. Sunday morning we went to an awesome church called Hope Community Church and then did Chipotle for lunch. Later that afternoon we went to training.. both Jono and Brenna are GW staff this summer too so it was nice having comrades to join with me.

SO far I am still super stoked. My teammates in Juarez are Mateo and Becky, both awesome and it should be a blast. I am so excited to get to Juarez and start living out loud. Actually I am not assuming that only starts in Mexico.. it has been a fun challenge getting to know people here and starting to take risks in relationships here. Well it is mighty late and I am ready for bed!!

Goodnight y'all!

B&N

Went to Barnes and Noble today.. looking for nothing and finding far too much. I spent about four hours perusing books, deciding to buy one book a journal and pilates cards. I bought this awesome book called Mexican Lives that is sort of a documentary like book recording interviews of Mexicans since the sixties just talking about their everyday lives, views, and hopes from all different areas and regions. I got sucked in to that book for a good hour and decided it would be a good train book. So at this point I am in the midst of:

Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren
Irresistable Revolution by Shaine Claiborne
Serve God, Save the Planet by J. Mathew Sleeth, MD
Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Mexican Lives by Judith Adler Hellman

I finished Irresistable Revolution over the Texas trip and the wedding so I could give it to my sister. Thought she would like it since she is out in Phillie where most of it was happening anyway. Turns out The Well has been working in Love park too so they probably have met a lot of the people working with the Simple Way.

So I am reading and packing, trying to relax a bit before heading out on Saturday. I'll be on a train from Detroit to Minneapolis! with plenty of time to finish the books I haven't yet. I just hope I can take my bags on the train.. hahah.. ehem. No but seriously.

Thanks!

I want to thank everyone who is supporting me while I am in Juarez. I appreciate the support as does Greaterworks. If you aren't already supporting me and you are interested in making a one time donation, or repeat donation.. there is a donation button in the right column that will help you do that online. You can also send donation checks to Greaterworks at the address below:

Greaterworks
3530 E 28th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406

My goal is $3950 by January. This will go towards housing, transportation, training, food, and stipend costs. My participation in the internship is not contingent on raising the support, but this donation will go towards the Greaterworks program and allow them to do more in these communities. I will be partnering with organizations in the Juarez community, and intentionally building and strengthening relationships. Greaterworks partners with Youthworks to provide year long relationships in the communities. It allows Youthworks to be more than a hit and run missions organization.

Thanks again!! I love you all!

Lista?

It is Tuesday. On Friday my latest adventure begins. I am heading to my internship. I leave for Minneapolis on Saturday via train from Ann Arbor. I will end up in Minneapolis Saturday night and training will start on Saturday. I have no idea how I will be getting from Minneapolis to my internship but I am not worried, it's in their hands. My internship is with Greaterworks, and I am placed at the Juarez site for at least the next nine months. It is another piece of my RPP for my Master's at School for International training. I don't know precisely what I will be doing there but the best I can describe it is community development, volunteer hours, relational ministry, intentional simple living etc.

I am excited/nervous to head back to Juarez. The last time I was there I loved it, the community, the experience but it was tainted by some bad experiences and awkward endings. I am ready to face that and hopefully move past that. I am extremely excited to see Eileen and to be back in Mexico. I don't know what it is about that experience. I love the dirt, the raw love and reality. It's not a bubble, or a comfortable life padded with expense, rules and happy smiles. Life is authentic, real, painful, but extremely full of life.

Ready, set, grow. Today I wonder what God has in store. A lot of people are saying, you should stay there, you should live there, why not just stay and graduate from there, would you live there forever? and much more. I don't have an answer for them. God is working in me and doing some crazy things. I am craving authenticity, true loving relationships, screw the politics faith, simplicity and hope that I can be a follower and not a comfy Christian. I think I have finally hit my adolescence when it comes to my need for independence from my parents. I feel like an idiot when I want to say such cliche things like.. I can do what I want, you can't make me, leave me alone, let me live my own life, its MY life!, stop taking control! etc. A lot of my friends know this struggle has been a long time coming, and its nothing personal.. I am just so jaded.

I have become jaded with comfort. I want to be bold, adventurous, I want to love til it hurts, and share it with real people. I don't want to live cushioned by privilege, catered to by institutions. Working in a corporate NGO feels the same as working for a big corp. Neither sound appealing. People ask me what I want to do, and I don't have an answer. I want to learn how to truly live, love, and be content before I figure out what vocation. I don't want to be defined by WHAT I do, but how I live. Right now I am not happy with how I live. God has been working on my heart so much to teach me how to live simply, contently, and hopefully.

My goals:

1) Take risks for relationships. It should hurt when I leave.
2) Be content, be simple. Fight my consumerism!
3) Seek God in every minute, don't just pencil it in.
4) Journal, Reflect, Talk.
5) Ask questions, learn.
6) Be present, be open to change.