Sweet precious children!

I have had such a crazy week! I am not going to lie it was a challenging week for some random reasons. My students were wonderful and my site kids were as sweet as can be! I just felt out of it all week. I mean I was running into walls left and right (cutting corners to sharp), falling down the stairs, words were difficult to come by, and the random list goes on. Thankfully God gave me the energy and strength to invest in the students and children at site. So my goal this weekend is to be pretty lazy to try to get as much rest as humanly possible so that next week doesn't look like this one in terms of my loopiness:) One funny story I cannot post on here but if you ask me in person I would love to share just so that I could give you a little giggle!

Now I have to tell you about my precious site. Every week Tues.-Thursday we take our campers to site to do ministry in the city. My site all summer is an apartment complex in Kenner, LA. The complex is largely Hispanic, which of course can present a problem with communication at times. One of these days I will learn Spanish!! It has been so exciting to see God at work in this place. This week I was able to really see the children at the apartments building new friendships within their community. There are two precious little girls who have become sweet friends who I am pretty sure didn't even know each other before. Last week there was a new family to the neighborhood with a boy who is kind of a loner, and one of the more outgoing boys in the complex has been such a sweet friend to him even after we were gone. Please be in prayer for our newest friend, Joel, who has autism, that came out yesterday. His mother was very reluctant to allow him to come out. After we ensured her he would not be left alone at anytime, she let him come, and he had a wonderful time. She was so surprised that he did not get upset and was able to stay out the whole time without her. (she of course is welcome to join us, but she must have been unable to at the time) Anyways he is nonverbal but seems to be about medium to high functioning, so who knows what this summer could mean for him and his mom. Lastly these kids about made me cry this week.

As we left each day they were climbing in the backs of our vans trying to hitch a ride with us:) This may seem like not that big of a deal but it is just a small thing to show that they know that we love them and that we care for them deeply! Pray that this trust in our groups coming out would grow each week and that they would begin to open up through the one on one conversations. They are sweet and precious kids but this is truly a crucial time for many of them to make a choice to follow Christ or to follow the world. Especially in the communities they live in, if they get in with the wrong group of people, there is no telling where it could lead. So please pray that we would make the most of every opportunity and that we would never forget the incredible urgency of the gospel and the salvation of these children and families!

Here is a little look into camp week 2, which was really my first official week on staff with a track group. I am too tired to share stories tonight, so I will just share pictures.

Here is my sweet Bible study/ track group.
This little guy is a precious skater boy.

Water games are going to be a must in this crazy heat. They LOVED it.

Apparently the "cool" kids hang out on top of the monkey bars.

Boys being boys.

This is most of our crowd at the end of water day. I have already fallen in love with these sweet little ones. Thanks to my students and adults who worked so hard and endured some intense heat this week!

Welcome to Tulane

So week one was full of unexpected excitement. Here are just a few examples:

*almost lost air conditioning one night, but thankfully they changed their plans and did it while everyone was out on sites

*lost hot water 2 nights I believe. Thankfully my showers were taken before they were supposed to cut it off.

*had quite a few logistical kinks to work out with a few some of Tulane's services (lunches, traffic, quiet hours, etc.)

*major thunderstorms blew threw while people were on sites or traveling back from sites

*on a lighter note a movie was being filmed just one building over from us on campus. A couple guys were able to see the set and the filming for a bit. Our director's husband saw Bruce Willis at Cafe Dumonde which we were probably less than a block away from at the time.

Well my official week starts Monday, so we shall see how that goes. But it was very neat to see that God had a purpose for having me off this week because I was able to 1. see how things worked and kind of figure things out 2. help when all the logistical craziness was going on, where I wouldn't have been able to had I had campers. I am very excited about the work God has been doing here at Tulane and around New Orleans. Neighborhoods are hearing about what we are here for and are being blessed because of it. Students have been challenged and are growing in exciting ways. They are doing things they didn't expect to be doing when they signed up for their track, and I believe really enjoying it. It has also blessed my heart to hear some of the adults talking about how their students were loving on the Tulane staff like the cafeteria workers and the maintenance people that they see everyday. I pray that these sweet workers see the love of Jesus in each group that comes through and through us as a staff and are forever changed because of it. Great things have already begun to happen and I believe the best is yet to come. Thank you week one campers for coming through and beginning to lay the groundwork for those still to come this year and hopefully for years to come:)!

Campers have arrived:)

YAY! Camp has officially begun! We are no longer sitting around talking about it, but things are now happening:) (I am off this week, which is why I am on my computer and not working) Anyways, it is so exciting to have a campus full of students who are excited and ready to work in the city.

Imagine all the mixture of students that will come through this summer... There will be students who have looked forward to this day since they left camp last year; there will be students who are newly involved in the church and who are still trying to figure this whole church/relationship with God thing out; there will be students who were pushed and drug onto the buses by their parents or youth pastors; there are students who signed up because the pretty girl or handsome boy signed up. The list goes on and on! The beautiful thing is that not one single person is here by chance; they are here by Divine appointment!

I think our staff has all, at one time or another, said something to the effect of "This place just doesn't even know what is about to hit them" Meaning both the campus of Tulane and the city of New Orleans. I pray that New Orleans and Tulane are shaken up this summer when hundreds of students are sent out every week to just love and serve them, expecting nothing in return! Also pray that these students don't grow discouraged. They have an awesome opportunity to to be a part of laying the foundation for a wonderful ministry to be in this city and on this campus. Things might start off a little crazy and that can be hard to for students to understand.

Pray that our faith would increase! That we would pray believing that God will do big things in just a short amount of time, with just a few ordinary people. Pray that our hearts would not be focused on results but on being obedient servants of a Holy and righteous God and that our single purpose would be to worship the one and only God!

Training week Part 1!

Well training week is almost half way over and campers will arrive 1 week from today! I am super exhausted (so excuse anything that makes absolutely no sense), but so very excited to begin camp! Here's a little about what's to come for me and my team this summer:

Tulane! God has opened an incredible door in that Fuge is now at Tulane. There are many reasons why this is great! First being that this is the only location presently that Fuge is at that is a secular campus. Which means, we have an incredible opportunity to minister to people on campus! Tulane has been referred to as the Harvard of the South, and many of the students are from the West coast or Northeast. I would assume that most of them don't have a relationship with the Lord and probably have some pretty strong feelings in the area of religion and God and Christianity. So please pray for opportunities for us all this summer and that we would be sensitive to the Spirit's guidance and that we would be obedient to what He calls us to do.

We also have a huge responsibility to build a good relationship with Tulane so that Fuge can continue to come back. There is an incredible need for ministry on this campus and in this city, so please pray that Tulane is overwhelmed by us in the greatest way! That they are overwhelmed by God's love and compassion and joy that they see in the lives of staff, students, and adult chaperones. I just believe that God will have us all standing with our jaws dropped at the end of the summer when we look back at the unexpected ways that He worked here at Tulane and I CAN'T WAIT!!

More to come about the city of New Orleans. Love and miss you all!

Sweet Memories!

Well the year is officially wrapping up. Grades are being turned in, awards have been given out, classrooms are being packed up, and bittersweet goodbyes are beginning. What a challenging and blessed year this has been. Call me crazy, but I never once woke up dreading to go to work (I may have dreaded waking up and getting ready...Ok I often dreaded that part) I am so glad that the Lord has given me a love for my work and His children, granted that doesn't mean everyday was full of sunshine and roses.

As I have reflected on the year, I notice that I have grown and changed in a variety of ways. Some comical, some more serious, some very unexpected. One I will share is quite funny in my opinion. If you have ever worked with young children, you may have noticed that they can be a bit whiny at times. Perfectly normal and something they will usually out grow of, and I would much rather whiny than the attitudes they begin to get as they get older. Well even though it is normal, it can get a bit tiresome. I mean you should see the littlest bumps and scratches that they are in "agony" over. I once considered myself a compassionate person, but I cannot tell you how many times I have said the following words this year: "You'll be fine" (which thankfully is usually all the reassurance they need) I also justify it in my head many times with " I am just toughening them up." But I must say I have learned that a trip to the water fountain or a bandaid can instantly end all the worry and pain. Amazing! Oh Lord I pray that You restore a compassionate heart in me for these sweet little ones' aches and pains:).

A teacher has a million things going on at once, and for a scatterbrained person like myself, this makes concentrating and remembering things a bit more challenging than the average person. But oh how I do love a challenge. One sweet girl came to me in need of a bandaid, and I told her "Yes, One second." I literally turned around for like 10 seconds, turned back around, and said "What do you need (student's name)?". To which she reminded me and also said "Man you do have a bad memory." Oh my!

The sweetest way to end my 1st year happened at our awards ceremony Friday. Our principal told everyone about my plans to work MFUGE this summer, and then he had all of my students surround me and pray. I cannot say enough how thankful I am for the school that I work at. To hear the student's precious prayers and to have the support and encouragement of my co-workers, principal, students, and their families means so much to me!

God is so very good! I cannot wait to see what great things He has in store!

Running confessional...

I enjoy a good run! I would call myself a runner, but I by no means am a serious runner. I do it to be healthy and for the simple enjoyment of it all. Here are some facts about me as a runner:

* I enjoy a good race every now and then. And by race I mean a 5K, 10K, and even the occasional 1/2 marathon. When I race I am not really trying to beat anyone, I just want to run along with a thousand or so strangers, and as long as I have a few people behind me, I am quite pleased:)

*I plan my route according to the neighborhood dogs. I know the ones that are safely put away behind a nice strong, sturdy fence, and I know the ones that are let out without a leash (which are usually quite small but I still avoid if at all possible!)

* I may or may not run a little faster every time I hear a dog bark. Just a side story: Tonight one of those safe dogs that is nice and secure behind the strong, sturdy fence began to bark at me. Of course, I look around to ensure that they are in fact not running after me, and one of the boards in the fence was broken to where I could see it. Needless to say, my feet took me away as fast as they could move!

* Now on top of dogs, I have to look out for snakes! I saw 2 snakey skin looking things on the road today...EEK! Oh my, maybe one day I will enjoy a peaceful, carefree run.

* No matter how unproductive the day, a good run makes me feel like I accomplished great and wonderful things:)

* A nice sports watch and my workout wear makes me feel like a much better runner than I actually am.

* I do not appreciate honks or teenage boys trying to ask me my name while I am in the zone! (or any other time for that matter)

* I like to find obstacle courses or bob and weave in and out of driveways to make the run a little more eventful! Every now and then I even play a bit of hide and seek with my mom haha! She walks one way and I run the other and we meet somewhere along the way.

Ah so now that you know all my weird running ways...join me on a run soon!