Remember When

Barbanaska

2007-07-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I was a staffer for a youth camp at Zephyr Baptist Encampment. Here are a few of the not so serious things I learned from the trip:

1. Do not get on a bus/van that has already had to have 3 jump starts before you leave the church. It may get you to your destination, but it may not get you back.

2. When in doubt, put a new battery in the van/bus--even if that is not the real problem with the vehicle it might just fix it long enough to get home.

3. As a staff member for a youth camp you can make up a word and get the rest of the staff in on using the word--the campers will soon join in. Barbanaska--it's the new cool.

4. Even though the information describing the track time says "messy games" some kids will say, "I didn't think we were going to get messy." umm......

5. Paintball guns without a hopper can be used to shoot mosquitoes. It works much better than OFF.

6. If you squeeze a paintball, it will squirt in a direction you didn't intend for it to go---sorry Cor.

7. Only at camp will you find 19-27 yr old people standing in a circle and making random motions and animal sounds and nobody will question what is going on.

8. Spades can be a fun game to watch, but only if the people you are watching randomly throw down their cards and yell things at each other.

9. Don't drink the blue drink.

10. Pinto beans can be served at every meal and no, it does not matter that you are not having mexican food for those meals.

My Job....completely random

2007-04-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Working in the missions office is rarely dull. Yesterday was not dull. We are getting ready for a day full of service projects on Sunday. By we, I really mean Heather is getting ready for it and the rest of us are just there for the random jobs. I had the pleasure of taking part in the trip to McCoy's to purchase supplies for Sunday.
Let me start by saying, I think there should be alarms on all doors in all stores selling lumber and/or home improvement supplies. These alarms would sound when people (most of the time of the female persuasion) walk in with a list of supplies for jobs which they will not be doing and have no clue how to do. The alarm would have started ringing in McCoy's before Heather and I even stepped out of the truck to head into the store. Luckily when we walked in, they were not very busy. We immediately found "Terrific Terry" and handed the list off to him. He was so much help and was of great importance in the lifting of 5 gallon buckets of paint. While "Terrific Terry" helped us find all of the supplies we needed, he left "Sweet Smellin' Jason" in charge of mixing paint for us. Now, "Sweet Smellin' Jason" felt the need to explain to us that he does not normally smell like a girl, but one of his co-workers had attacked him with her sweet pea body spray because he told her she smelled good. We assured him that even if he did normally smell like a girl, we would not judge as long as he was still a good paint mixer--I don't think he appreciated that Heather tacked on to the end of that the lovable name of Girly Man.
Meanwhile, "Terrific Terry" is having to endure things like, "Umm....I don't know what kind of nails...the kind you use to fix a fence?" and "Hinges, that's all I know. No, I don't know what size. Is that a problem?" and "Well, the gutter goes like this around the house and then goes down so I don't know what kind of angle things we need." Oh, and..."I am not sure the size of door. Can you hold that one up and I will tell you if it looks right?" He was so patient. Eventually, we were finished with the torture of "Terrific Terry" and moved on to the lumber yard part of our excursion. There, we met James. I don't think he has been given a nickname yet, but he said he would come out and help us on Sunday...so there is still time for nicknaming.
I know you are all jealous and have a need to meet all of these wonderful McCoy's people. So, when you are in Abilene stop on by and ask for "Terrific Terry" or "Sweet Smellin' Jason" and see how far that gets you.

I did not turn orange...

2007-04-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention in my previous post the advice of the doctor who said I was not sick. His advice for my throat so I could sing on Thursday night of pageant: Get Vitamin A in a gel tab...well, that's all they come in is gel tabs...so get Vitamin A and twice a day for three days crack one tab open and let it coat your throat. Do this only for three days for a total of 6 gel tabs. DO NOT DO MORE THAN THIS. If you do more than this, you could turn orange. And eventually you would go blind.
All of this advice and I didn't even use it because I was sick and received medication stronger than Vitamin A.

Just call me Milli Vanilli

2007-04-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor on Monday and told him I was sick. He said I was not sick. Well, not really...he tested for strep and it came back negative. So, he sent other tests off to see if I was just imagining my illness. Today, Thursday, the nurse from the office called and said I am in fact sick and would I like a prescription to be called in. Heck yes I would!
We have Easter pageant presentations tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday. At practice last night I had to lip sync everything. I promise, nobody wanted to hear the various wrong notes coming out of my mouth. My voice was pretty much completely gone. So, for last night and probably tonight's performance...just call me Milli Vanilli. At least I can't take the blame for any wrong notes this way. We'll see if I can become an actual out-loud singer for Friday and Saturday.

Fudge Pops and scrambled eggs

2006-12-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Because Joe said I had to....here's a new entry. :)
I am in Friona for a few days taking care of my mom while she recovers from surgery. She had one of the worst colons her surgeon has ever seen. Don't worry, I ordered her a trophy for Christmas. She is doing well but can't eat much without getting sick. For most people, odd combinations of food would be the cause of the sickness but for my mom normal food, like soup, is what is making her sick. That, and the fact that she had a rather large portion of her colon removed. But don't worry, she is able to eat scrambled eggs and fudge pops. I am sure this is giving her the necessary nutrition for a speedy recovery. I have introduced her to the wonderful world of "High School Musical" during her recovery at home. This leads to remarks like, "Oh yes, I am sure that most basketball teams sing during practice." and "I bet you don't have people coming to sing at your window every day." To which I must reply, "Actually, I do have people singing at my apartment every day and I am sure somewhere there is a basketball team singing." She doesn't need to know that the people singing in my apartment are brooke and me...
For now, I am having a good time hanging out with my mom--even if she won't remember most of it.

Twins

2006-08-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

I work with a lady that has three year old twins. There are some days when a friend and I pick them up from "school" to help her out. Yesterday was one of those days. The twins were given the opportunity to choose the place to eat. As we made our way to Long John "Slilvers" this is the conversation from the back of the car...

Twin 1 -"Look, an ambulance! A firetruck!"
Twin 2 - "I saw it too!"
Twin 1 - "We see them all day long at school. Look! A police man! He had his lights flashing! Did you see it?"
Twin 2 - "I saw it"
Twin 1 - "Cool! A blue garbage truck! I never saw a BLUE garbage truck!"
Twin 2 - "I haven't either."
Twin 1 - "I saw it once in a movie"
Twin 2 - "I saw it in a movie too!"
Twin 1 - "You didn't see this movie about a blue garbage truck."
Twin 2 - "I saw it."
Twin 1 - "You didn't see this one"
Twin 2 - "I have on blue shoes!"

And, apparently, that solved it.

Half-days

2006-08-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

After having time off from work for most of the past three weeks, I have decided that you should be able to work your way up to working full days again. I really think starting back with a couple of half-days would be a good thing. This way, when you feel like you need a nap at 1:45 you can go home and take a nap at 1:45. It's crazy to think that I am this tired after only 8 hours of work when I worked 17 hour days the entire week before I had my vacation. Yep, half-days is the way to go.

Finished my first year

2006-05-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was the last day for this year in the Achieve program. I am happy to finish my first year and have a better idea of what I need to do to prepare for next year. At the same time, I still feel like I don't really know what I am doing. This is not what I saw myself doing after I graduated from HSU, but it is something I love. The students I get to see every week in Achieve are smart and funny and, for the most part, a joy to work with. As a teacher in a school I probably wouldn't get to have the same type of relationship with the students. As the director for an after school program, I have the freedom to take the time to sit with each student and talk about how the day went or why there is so much excitement about the weekend. The end of the program brought some "see you next years" and a few goodbyes to students that will head off to high school next year. It also brought on a crazy day playing water dodge ball and having a water balloon fight. Mostly the end of this semester of Achieve brought on an end to new and left the chance for better. I can't wait.

Now for the Missions part of the Mission Trip...

2006-03-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

I had a great time in NYC this year and it isn't all because of the crazy things that happened. This year I was able to work with a man named Larry. He works with a group called Urban Impact. Urban Impact works in several areas of Queens and Brooklyn to minister to unreached people groups. Larry took us to several neighborhoods to talk to the people living there. We met people from Bangladesh, Bombay, Jamaica, India, and several other places. On Tuesday morning, we were standing in the most diverse county in the United States.
We also did some minor construction work in the African Friendship Center in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn. Corey and Hogan did an amazing job of installing "tile" in the bathroom; Hollie, Aaron, Janell, and Samanta did some work on the roof of the building....something about trying to repair a leak near a sky light or a vent; Duane got to use a power saw in a project to fix the AFC sign; the Jamisons went to Home Depot and put together a set of shelves for the kitchen in the apartment above the AFC; and me....I got to install a paper towel holder--don't worry, I called my mom to let her know how hard I was working. I also cleaned the kitchen-ish area in the AFC.
We learned a lot about Muslims and Larry took us to see the outside of the largest mosque in NYC. The mosque has a membership of over 5,000. While we were in Brooklyn, we were able to observe some of the men during their prayer time and we talked to many of the store owners in the neighborhood. Learning more about their faith challenged me in my own faith. I believe that I serve the one and only God but sometimes I still struggle in the daily things. Spending time with Larry and the other members of the Urban Impact team showed me that you don't have to do big things and try to "save" everyone. That is not our job. Our job is to live each day for Christ and to show others his love for them.

Things you can do in New York City...

2006-03-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

1. Get invited to go home with drunk 57 year old man named Richard. He lives right above the beauty shop and he only has 10 kids.

2. Travel on the A train during rush hour and hold on to the coat of the lady in front of you that you just met so you don't fall over because there is no way you will be able to reach a bar to hold on to.

3. Lose Hollie and the pastor's son on the subway on the way to Queens. Hollie knows what to do if you get separated on the subway, but she will let Hogan talk her in to getting on the next train anyway. This train will happen to be the train that the rest of the group just got off of in order to look for Hollie and Hogan---that is how the rules work and Hollie will not follow the rules.

4. Get bruises from not "standing clear of the closing doors" on the subway because they started closing before anybody had a chance to get on the train. It's fun, you should try it.

5. Buy a $10 duffel bag in Chinatown so you can avoid having to pay another $25 on the way home because your bag weighs 6 pounds over the limit. Both bags combined on the way home will not add up to as much as your one bag weighed on the way there even though you are now carrying 3 more pairs of shoes, 2 extra T-shirts, and a toy bus for one of the kids you babysit.

And this is only a sampling of the things you can do.

Last Day

2006-03-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that 30 days have come and gone. God's surprises began before those 30 days and I am confident in saying they will continue to come even though the "experiment" is over. I have always been one to look at things and think about how amazing God must be to create things in nature that will point us straight back in his direction. How could I doubt that there is a loving and caring God when I see little miracles all around? I think God took these 30 days to surprise me with myself and the way I react to things that happen around me. I am a work in progress and I can't wait for the many more surprises that wait for me each day.
I leave in 3 days to go to NYC for a mission trip and, even though the experiment is over, I can already hear....Surprise...

Not really sure which day it is....

2006-03-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a while. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and found out I have the flu or I guess I had the flu. It's Saturday night now and I am mostly over it. I'm still just really tired and the fact that I fell down the stairs in my apartment this morning (or at noon after I woke up) doesn't help matters any. Now, my body isn't sore from the flu. It is just sore from falling.
Having the flu did teach me that I made some good choices in the hiring of interns to work in the after school program. Things went really well at the program on Friday. I did miss the Achieve Girls' Night Out, but that went well too. It was good because I didn't even worry about how things would go, I just knew they would be taken care of. I guess it also helps to have a roommate that also works in the missions office. She really stepped in when I needed her help. She also coached at my Upward cheerleading practice and game this week. Isn't God good? I am totally blessed.

Day 22

2006-02-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever made someone so angry that she cried for 2 hours? Today, that is exactly what I did. I didn't mean to make her mad. It was all because of a cell phone at school. I couldn't leave the van full of students to go get her phone from the principal--that's when the crying started. The crying ended two hours later after 45 minutes of drawing pictures of a cell phone on a marker board and writing the word phone a few hundred times. I kept thinking, "Yes, I know you are upset and I know you are mad at me, but is that really helping at all?"

When I sat down at the end of the day to think about what I would write about in my Surprise Me blog, this was brought back to my mind. There are times when things are not going my way and I want things to go the way I want them. It's usually the little things that bring on this frustration. There is crying involved and writing in journals. I never say that I am mad at God, but I am sometimes. Now, I just get this image in my head of God saying, "Yes, I know you are upset and I know you are mad at me, but is that really helping at all?" The thing about God is that even when I am being stubborn and angry, he is there waiting for me stop and realize he has this amazing plan that probably won't go my way...but it will go the right way.

Day 18

2006-02-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

At home team on Tuesday, some of us were talking about how we would like to be able to pray, "Surprise Me God, but not with __________" (you get to fill in the blank) If that were the case and I prayed "but not with ..." this is how that prayer would go.
"Surprise Me God, but not with an allergic reaction to the new soap I used. And please don't surprise me with an eye that swells shut in a matter of minutes either. But, if you should choose to surprise me in this way, please let there be an opening to see the doctor at 8:30 as soon as the office opens. Also, if you could arrange for some sort of shot that will stop the allergic reaction while making me extra hyper--that would be nice too." And I think God said, "Surprise!"

Day...something

2006-02-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

Today at Achieve Kristi taught the kids how to play a traditional Vietnamese New Year's game. To my surprise, one of my student's parents came to observe. I don't mind the parents coming to observe, it is probably a good idea for some of them. This particular parent came because her son has been having problems with being able to follow rules like, "Don't talk while one of the leaders is talking." "Do not play with your cell phone during the program." (when did it suddenly become necessary for a 13 year old to own a cell phone anyway?) "Sit in a chair, not on a table." The list could go on, but I will stop there. This parent acknowledges that this child acts the same way at home. The parent questioned everything at the program from the number of tables in the room to the size of the small groups for the game. I understand that she is concerned that we are picking on her son, but the reality is that he receives more chances than any other student in the program. For the 12 minutes the parent observed the program, her son was relatively well behaved...meaning he didn't throw the beans on the floor or at other students like he did on Monday. My worry is that she will think he acts this way the other hour and forty-five minutes of each program day.
I would like to say that I do not do the same thing each day. But I am afraid that I am only on my best behavior when I remember that God is present and constantly watching. It's easy to do a quiet time and pray when I am reminded that it is important to do those things. It is easier to be sweet and not come back with a rude remark or a snide comment when one of the volunteers in the missions office is around and it is not just "family" present. God uses frustrating circumstances to teach me lessons every day. Maybe I should be a better student.

12, 13, 14

2006-02-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all kind of a blur. A very cold blur.
At Achieve on Friday, the kids did an Amazing race game through "Russia" a.k.a. Immanuel Baptist Church. The kids had a great time. My first surprise came in the form of ants in rice. One of the stations in the game was supposed to be for the kids to find a hidden bean in rice and then eat the rice. Well...the rice had bugs in it so we had to change the plan. I also had to hurry to find an extra van driver when I found out one of the drivers had pink eye and was at the doctor. It was still a great day at the program.
Friday night, I was able to see one of my very good friends from college. I had not seen her in over 2 years. She stayed with me all weekend and we had a great time.
I spent all morning and a lot of the afternoon on Saturday preparing for a chicken fried steak lunch at church. We are raising money for a mission trip to New York City. I was a little more than surprised when we started talking about the fact that we leave in 3 weeks. Three weeks is such a small amount of time to prepare.
Saturday night, I went to Mr. Gatti's to hang out with some friends from church. I absolutely LOVE ski ball! It's okay to spend $6 just on ski ball right? It was a fun time.
I realized on the way home that God blesses us with amazing people to surround us. I was thinking about all of the different friends I have had in my life. They all play a special role in who I am. Some of them have been friends for years and some have only been around for a few months. It never ceases to surprise me that God knows exactly who I need and when. He provides those people at just the right time. Thank you, God for blessing me with friends.

Day 11

2006-02-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

umm....no day 10.
Day 11 was a long day. I have definitely decided that 14 hour workdays are not for me. The missions office helped to organize a senior adult conference called "Live Long and Love It!" We got to the Civic Center at 7:00 a.m. and left at 9:00 p.m. My surprise today came in the form of an 80 year old woman. It seems I have met my sarcastic match. We were teamed up for registration duties at the front tables. She also knew pretty much every person that walked in the door. There was a lot of laughing and I can't even count the times I heard, "Yes, you need a name tag. It's in case you forget your name today so we can help you remember." Yep, that was my partner. I had a lot more fun than I thought I would hanging out with 900+ senior adults from the Abilene area. One lady told us she heard about the conference from a brochure sent to her husband that died about 10 years ago. While laughing, she told us that he couldn't make it so she came in his place. I hope I am able to keep my sense of humor as well as many of the people I met yesterday have. It was a long, surprisingly fun day.

Day 9

2006-02-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

Today held lots of small surprises. The first, I knew about so it wasn't really a surprise. One of my friends from church brought me flowers to my office. It was a nice addition to the office and brightened my day. I spent the evening eating homemade chicken enchildas, guacamole, and eclair cake with a group of friends. It was a great time to enjoy the company of others.

Day 8

2006-02-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

I went to see a documentary at Logsdon tonight. It was called "Invisible Children." The documentary followed some of the children affected by the civil war in Uganda. Much of the footage and the story it told was shocking. There was one moment in the documentary that I found interesting. The children that face the fear of being abducted each night and travel to a central location to sleep like sardines in a room were singing praises to God because they made it to the location safely. I realized that I take many things for granted here in my Abilene, TX world. Too many times I let wonderful things go by without even thinking about thanking God for it, much less sing praises to him. One thing I have noticed since beginning the "Surprise Me God" experiment 8 days ago is that I have become much more aware of the blessings in my life. I hope that after the 30 days are up, I will still notice the many blessings around me every day.

Day 7

2006-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Sunday was just a good day. It was a good time to spend with friends in church discussing surprises from our week. The day ended the same way I spend every Sunday evening hanging out with a group of girls from church. Come to think of it, maybe it was a great day.

Day 6

2006-02-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

Today I "talked" to my mom online for a while. It reminds me how blessed I am to come from a home where I knew I was loved. Unlike a lot of people, I never went through that rebellious stage where I yelled at my parents or did things just to irritate them. (or at least, I don't remember doing anything like that) In high school, I lived 45 miles away from the town where I attended school. Every morning my mom, 2 of my brothers, and I would all pile in to our mini van and make the 45 minute drive to school. Some days were spent finishing homework, trying to memorize parts of Canterbury Tales in Old English, or sleeping. Others were spent "scream singing" with my youngest brother or ...sleeping. There were a few days that I remember when my brothers were sleeping and my mom and I just talked on the way to school. There was also a time when one of my friends needed a ride to school for about 8 weeks after her mom was in a car accident and had to have back surgery. So, my mom agreed to pick her up from her brother's house in a town 15 miles from our house and take her with us the rest of the way to Hereford. My mom blesses people wherever she goes. She told me once that she is surprised that any of us kids turned out okay. I am surprised that she doesn't realize that it is because of her that we turned out okay. My mom taught me how to give to others through helping them with their needs. She knows how to love without judging and I hope that I am able to that too.
Maybe today wouldn't be labeled a surprise by most, but more of a blessing. Either way, I am thankful.

Day 5

2006-02-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Today's surprise came in a short prayer.
I was walking through Wal-Mart and thinking about how crazy Monday and Wednesday were at Achieve. As stressful as it is for me when the students seem out of control, I think it might be just as stressful for the students. So, in the middle of Wal-Mart I prayed, "Lord, please help me to be a blessing to the students in the program." I finished my shopping at Wal-Mart and headed back to the office to get ready for a staff meeting. At the end of the staff meeting one of my interns asked to lead us in a prayer. During his prayer he said, "...and God, help us to be a blessing to the kids." It was so great to hear my earlier prayer echoed by my program staff.
The day at Achieve went wonderfully. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Day 4

2006-02-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

Most of my day was spent in an over the counter drug induced haze. I vaguely remember being at work and actually getting things accomplished. I also had Upward cheerleading practice tonight. I've decided that 4 and 5 year-old cheerleaders are pretty much the cutest and most entertaining thing to witness a practice for. It still amazes me to this day that by the end of the season the girls I coach will know the words and motions to 10 cheers and a large number of chants.
I went home after practice and fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 10:00. I was wide awake and, for the first time today, I was able to breath. So, I watched the Sacramento Kings play on TV and then my roommate and I stayed up entirely too late watching other nonsensical shows. It was, in my opinion, time well spent. Even if it was now 1:00 a.m. Sleep is good, but time spent with others is better.
I was thinking before I went to bed that I find myself thinking throughout the day, "okay, God, surprise me." I thought more about that and decided that before I can actually be surprised by God, I have to pay attention to what he's doing in my life. I sometimes get caught up in what I am doing and forget that everything I do is done only with God's help. Sometimes, the surprise comes in the reminding me of things I have known for years. The hard part is putting them into practice.

Day 3

2006-02-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know there are no posts for day 1 or 2....I'm kind of behind in the blogging part of this. Honestly, it is actually day four--but only half-way through so I will do 1, 2, and 3 together and do a day 4 once day 4 is over.

So, day 1 was a pretty normal day. I went to work at my office and then went to the Achieve site. Then it was on to my house.

Day 2
I started off my day with 5 hours of taking care of 3 yr old twins that were at home sick. Their mom works in my office and had a huge project due by noon on Tuesday. So, the kids couldn't go to daycare sick and I took care of them while she went to the office to work. At home team that night, we talked about how well we handle interuptions to our normal schedule. I started thinking about how I don't really have a "normal routine" The only thing I know for sure is that I will be at Achieve from 3-6 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The rest of the time, I don't know if I will be at the office working on the program, helping to collect items for disaster relief, or on rare occasions taking care of twins so everything in our office will run smoothly. I think most of all, today God suprised me with a gift of "I know you need some rest. How about a few hours of sitting in a lazy boy watching a movie with two tired 3 yr olds?"

Day 3
Today, I am sick. Hmmmm....could've been the twins. At Achieve today, two parents came to talk to me about their students in the program. One parent decided his son was being picked on during the program by the staff. We talked about how his son is probably the most intellligent 8th grade student I have worked with but that he focuses that intelligence on how to break the rules instead of in a more productive way. His dad said he does the same thing at home and he was wondering what I was going to do in my program about it because he was hoping that they could figure out how to fix it at home too. I was a little shocked because I was ready to have to defend everything I was doing in my program and his dad just needed someone to talk to about how to help his son. It puts my job into perspective for me. The kids in my program are not there just to get help with homework and to hang out for a couple of hours 3 days a week. Somehow, my staff and I have become a part of their lives. They trust us and it causes their parents to trust us. We are invited to choir concerts, basketball games, plays, band concerts and many other things the students spend their time doing while not with us. I think that today, my surprise was in being reminded that I am not just a director of a program but that I am a part of the lives of 24 middle schoolers. They have their ups and downs and I have been invited to go along for the ride.