9:40 PM. The local time as I begin this next blog post. About 30 minutes ago, I left my apartment at the shelter to go to Starbucks where I could use the gift card my sister bought me as a Christmas present. I dropped my roommate off at Subway down the street, stopped for $15 worth of gas to last me ‘til my next paycheck on Friday, and followed my GPS to the nearest Starbucks that I thought might be open late. (I found out a couple weeks ago that the closest one to me closes at 9 PM… far too early for a coffee shop to close in my opinion!) Well, it led me to a grocery store which isn’t ideal when I need a table, chair, and Wi-Fi to do my blogging. So I put in the next nearest one, and as I approached I saw the chairs atop the tables like freshly cleaned teacups placed upside down and waiting for the next seating. I turned around and started to head back to my normal hang-out: Barnes & Noble which is always open until 11 PM but whose Starbucks café won’t accept Starbucks gift cards… very lame. But of course, why in the world should Barnes & Noble permit Starbucks to profit from their patrons??
So here I am, back at Barnes & Noble as usual because no Starbucks in Glendale is open past 9:30 PM on a weeknight. I wonder if I’m becoming a fixture here, like the four old Armenian men who sit at the exact same spot every weeknight, or the security guard who always gives me a weird look whenever I walk in the store with my backpack or my tote bag carrying my laptop. I’m thankful that at least I can count on Barnes & Noble to be open late.
I sort of miss blogging. I keep putting it off and putting it off and forgetting all my little stories or opinions I want to share. I don’t even know if many people read this, but it’s rather therapeutic for me at least. Like I’m going back to chat with an old friend that I’ve had a terrible time pinning down a time to get together with, but then when we finally meet up I think, Oh how did I ever manage without you?
And so, old friend,…
My job becomes more normal with each quickly passing week. I’ve noticed a particular change since my return from Christmas vacation. We’re all more familiar with each other. Last weekend I had some awesome “sigh-of-satisfaction” moments both with the kids and with the moms. One evening I opened my door to see some moms chatting in the lobby with the kids playing around on the floor. We exchanged some greetings and brief conversation. Then one of my 7-year-old girls who is typically very quiet and shy, came into my room and wanted a little tour. She still didn’t say much, but she began to make herself at home… a huge difference from the still, silent little girl she was when she moved in a few months ago, domestic abuse still fresh. She climbed up into my loft, tried on my sleep mask, and peered down at me and the two other little girls I was playing with on the floor. Not so shy anymore! She talks to the staff now and interacts more with the other kids. She and her sister don’t participate in Bible lessons, but when I read her afterschool journal today, it reminded me that the Holy Spirit is still ministering to her in a big way:
Prompt: If all my wishes came true, I would…
Answer: I would be happy. I will thank God so much. He made it come true.
I imagine that when Jesus said we must enter the kingdom of heaven with the faith of a child, this is what He was talking about. These kids are some of the best teachers I’ve ever had.
One of our families started going to a large local church and began taking one of the other families. Every Sunday afternoon so far this month I see them incredibly excited and encouraged from their church. It’s an answer to prayer, truly, and there’s a great deal more joy in the shelter lately. There must be some people praying, because exciting stuff is happening!
Locking myself out of the office and my apartment: also exciting, but in a much different way. I did it for the second time last Sunday night, and after calling all of the local staff and not getting a response, the thought of climbing in through my window briefly entered my mind. The window is broken and easy to access, so it seemed a viable option, except that once last fall another resident dropped something out of her window and a neighbor thought it was someone breaking in. Next thing we knew, the police were here asking to check for intruders. I didn’t exactly want to create some false excitement. But when the mom next-door asked if I wanted help getting in, my desire to get in without requiring another staff member to drive over overruled the little voice in my head which said it wasn’t a good idea to have a resident help me break in my own place. So she took out my screen and pulled the window up so I could crawl in. I made it, no major situations resulting and felt pretty proud of myself for getting in without keys. But I did get a little talk from one of the case managers and the program director. Not a good idea to endorse breaking in the building. And especially not a good idea to do so with a resident. Lesson learned.
I have some college friends coming out to visit during the next couple months. I’m super excited to see them again. I definitely have my moments when I really miss college. My friends made it awesome. But I’ll admit to being the nerd I am and say that I really miss the academics, too. My roommate is studying intercultural studies and community development at Fuller Seminary, and I got to visit a class with her on Friday. The professor wrote a book I studied during undergrad, and it felt so good to be in a classroom again! Though my next steps are still very unclear starting this fall, I am more convinced than ever that I want to go back to school. I don’t think it’s a matter of if any longer, but more a matter of when, where, and how much money. The possibility of going overseas for an extended period of time also presses heavily on my mind…
Which reminds me… One of my best friends, Becky Locke, was recently appointed as a missionary to Poland with Global Partners. She’s an AMAZING young woman, full of energy and talent for youth ministry, and she needs people to partner with her! She’s a great investment, if you’re looking for some ways to invest in Christ’s kingdom! Go to http://wesleyan.org/gp/mdirectory2/WM04-0381 to give to her ministry :)
It's been so good to catch up a little bit on the blogging. Hopefully it won't be this long til the next one. Thanks for reading, friends! I miss you lots!
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