Ice, Ice Baby

I don't know how many of you have been following the news, but Kentucky has been under a severe winter storm warning since Monday night. Luckily, Mount Vernon was not hit too hard. The only thing we lost was our internet for two days. We have had a bit of ice and then yesterday we got some snow!

The weather has made for kind of a fun week though. Monday I worked a full day. Tuesday I got up to go to work, but our cars were grounded so I never made it in; I went back to bed and then got up and made bar cookies. Needless to say, it was a good day. Yesterday I went to work for about an hour before we were told to go home because the storm was getting worse. Instead of being completely lazy, however, I went to the abuse shelter and played with the kids for a few hours. We had ourselves an epic snowball fight - although Louis, one of my housemates, was definitely playing dirty (but at least I shoved snow down his shirt! Ha!).

The weather has not, however, brought all fun and games. There are thousands of people currently without power or water in the state of Kentucky. Berea, the next town over, is still trying to restore full power and many of the residents have relocated to emergency shelters. There have been reports that it might take up to two weeks for everyone's power to be fixed!!! And more snow is predicted for next week (just snow though, no ice). Apparently there are areas where people are, more or less, trapped because of all the fallen trees blocking the roads. It is quite crazy and humbling to think that snow and ice have the power to wreak all this damage, and to realize how blessed all of us are who did not lose power, heat, or even our access to clean food and water.

Please pray for those who are without heat, food, or even a place to stay.

Today I headed back to work. Although, it really wasn't bad because I had a WorkKeys training I had to attend in Somerset (about forty minutes away), which broke up the day pretty well. The training was actually fairly pointless, although I did figure out how to manipulate the system so I could have more access. On a side note, it is kind of funny, I always get nervous about these professional development trainings, but all of the ones I have attended have been pretty easy. Although I do always feel awkward when I walk in because everyone looks at me as if they are inwardly asking "Why is there a high schooler here?" Sigh...the curse of looking sixteen.

This weekend our house is hosting a Super Bowl party for all of the west-side volunteers, so it should be a fun night. Eastern time is not the best time zone to be in for the Super Bowl though - it is going to get over so late! Oh well. I will be cheering for Arizona; I have yet to forgive the Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XL (even though I should be unforgiving to the refs of that game, but still, it's the principle of the matter).

Blessings.

The Ladies in Red

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my housemates? Well, in case I haven't, I really love them.

Last night, after work, I was reading in my room and all of a sudden Liz barges in wearing this red dress - which was weird because I had seen her five minutes earlier in jeans. She threw a package at me and told me to put on my dress. I opened the package and inside was a matching red dress, so I changed real quick and went out to see what was going on.

I walked out and Kim, Jenna, Jenny, and Liz are all wearing the same red dress. Anyway, long story short, we decided we needed to have a little photo shoot to document the hilarity of our matching red dresses - and by little, I mean that we took pictures for at least thirty minutes. The best part was when we all sat down on the couch and got Helen to lie across our laps. So amazing!

In case you are curious, the dresses came from a place called Operation Sharing. Basically it is a huge warehouse that CAP operates; they take donations from all kinds of businesses and redistribute it among CAP programs, and even other non-profits. Volunteers are able to get stuff through them too - which is where most of our furniture and even our food comes from. And every once in awhile we'll get clothes from them too.

We are in the process of planning a red dress night. We haven't quite figured out when and where would be the best place to wear all of our dresses together - but it is going to happen. Jenny picked up two more dresses yesterday so Shannon and Sam (our new housemate who arrived last night after our dress-up time - we were nice and changed before she got there so she didn't think we were a cult) can join in.

I'm excited!

A Day in History

Happy Inauguration Day to one and all!

I don't know if everyone is quite as excited as I am about today, but I sure hope so. One of the best parts about working in an educational setting means that current events are important and can serve as subjects for class. So I was able to put on live coverage of all the inaugural events early this morning - and I didn't even have to feel bad about being completely absorbed by it. Unfortunately, however, I missed the actual inauguration because I was in jail (don't worry, I was teaching).

Someone once told me that they thought 9/11 would be the defining moment in history of my generation, in the same way that Vietnam was the defining moment in history for my parents' generation. I don't know if I completely disagree with that estimation, but I hope that 9/11 will not serve as the only defining moment for my generation. I hope that today will serve as one of those moments.

A moment that signals a step forward for a nation that has struggled since its infancy (234 years ago) to overcome issues of racism and inequality. And not that those struggles are over - there is still plenty of work to do, as I can see very clearly in my new home - but the fact that we have elected a President whose skin is not white seems like a ray of hope to me. If we can, as a nation, declare that the color of a person's skin is not a reason to keep them from holding the highest office in our land, then maybe it won't be too long until a person's gender will not hinder them from also holding that office. Maybe a time is coming when we will learn to see all people as individuals - not just the summation of their gender, race, economic status, or religion; that we will learn to see all people as equals and as image-bearers of our loving God. Maybe a time is coming when we will begin to live in light of Galatians 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

I know that today is only one day in history and that President Obama is only one man in history. But I do know that today I have felt a rekindled hope that this nation (and our world) may one day reach these goals of human equality. So feel free to laugh at my optimism, and maybe I am being a little naive, but I'm okay with that. And hey, for someone like me - who generally avoids politics - to be this excited about politics, well, that is a miracle in itself.

My prayer is that we as a nation would be able to fulfill these words - not because we are the greatest nation, or because America has something to prove, but because I believe it is the right thing to do. May we learn to love our neighbors (whomever they may be), to stand up for those who are oppressed, to protect our planet, and to seek peace.

"America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations." - President Barack Obama

Blessings.

Let it Be...

I'm not really sure where to start. This week has been pretty crazy - at least starting with Wednesday.

One of my co-workers left on Wednesday. Unfortunately, no one is sharing any details and so I am left to assume the worst. I have been encouraged by other co-workers though; as one of them said, she has to believe that things happen for a reason, and maybe there is something great ahead for Keith that he could not have done while still with CAP. I guess I need to have a little more faith that God is still in control of this situation and will continue to be working in and through it, regardless of how it looks to me. Maybe I should take some advice from the Beatles and just "let it be" (although I will keep praying).

Anyway, prayers for Keith and the rest of our staff during this time of transition would be amazing. With Janet already out, there will be even more responsibility on all of us now.

On a happier note: last Wednesday, while at the jail, I retested my student. I don't know if I have mentioned this, but for the last few months I have mainly spent most of my time in the jail with one student one on one. She has a pretty low literacy level and so we do the majority of our work aurally - which makes it hard for the other women when they're trying to concentrate. So we started going across the hall to the conference room (a tiny room with a tiny table and absolutely no room for more than two people) to work. Anyway, last week I retested her and while she went down a little in her reading comprehension, her math score went up. She even moved up a level! When students in the center make a level gain we try to give them a certificate to honor their achievement. So on Wednesday I gave my student her certificate. I wish y'all could have seen her. She was so excited. She asked me if she could show it to some of the other students (to which I, of course, said "yes"); so she started walking around the room and showed it to just about everyone. It was so amazing to see how much that achievement meant to her. It was definitely a moment that made both my heart and my soul happy.

Yesterday, I was able to head to the east side (yes, I drove through Hazard, KY) and attend New Volunteer Commissioning. We were able to surprise our two housemates who were commissioned, which was great. There were seven new volunteers commissioned. It was pretty fun to see commissioning from the other side this time. After the service the majority of the volunteers headed to the Floyd House (another volunteer house) for dinner, devotions, and just time to hang out; we don't all get together too often, so it was fun to see everyone. Before we all dispersed, we shared a time of prayer for one another and all participated in a Rockcastle after-devotion tradition - sharing hugs. You know it's a good day when the amount of hugs you have given/received around fifty (unless you are Jenna - because that is too much physical touch for one day).

Tomorrow we're headed off to go see Mammoth Caves. I can't wait! It has been on my list of things to do while in Kentucky. I don't know too much about it, other than the fact that they are huge. Oh and it will also be warm. The temperature inside should be around 50 degrees, while outside it should be around fifteen...I won't be complaining about the temperature inside, that's for sure. Brrr...

Peace.

To Home and Back

Well, I made it back to Portland and was able to enjoy a relaxing Christmas with my family and then was able to head up to Seattle to spend time with more family and friends. It felt so wonderful to be back in the northwest and to see real mountains again - family and old friends were nice to see too. Unfortunately I did not see as many friends as I had hoped to see. I apologize to everyone that I missed! I found that because of all the stress of just getting home, I had very little energy to plan my time carefully enough so I could see everyone. I wish I could have seen more of you! The weather was also a slight hindrance - although I'm not entirely complaining about that. It was amazing to have so much snow! And I got my first white Christmas ever (Portland hadn't had one for forty years!).

While it was great to have a few weeks off - time off that was very necessary - it also feels great to be back and to have something a little more purposeful to do with my time. I have officially been back in Kentucky for about five days. Thankfully, the trip out here was less eventful than my last trip. I made all of my flights and had very little stress concerning my trip. I had decided to fly into Nashville because I could save money that way and Jenny had offered to pick me up on her way back to Kentucky - although it didn't work out that way; I had a nice surprise waiting for me at the airport. Flying into Nashville did mean that I was able to see a little more of Tennessee, but not very much of it since it was dark and raining.

Coming back has brought a few other surprises, and, unfortunately, not all of them are pleasant. The biggest surprise was that Janet, one of my co-teachers, fell on Christmas day and broke her arm near the shoulder. They are unable to perform surgery and she is not allowed to use her arm or put it in a sling yet, so she is on medical leave until (potentially) mid-February. If you can spare a moment to pray for her safe and speedy recovery, that would be greatly appreciated. And if you can spare two moments, please pray for all of us at the learning center who are left trying to fill her shoes! I am especially nervous; not only does this mean that I will have more responsibility, but Janet has typically been the person I would harass with all of my questions, and whenever I would not know what to do with a student, I'd go to Janet for the rescue. It could potentially be a long six weeks...

Another situation that I would appreciate prayer in, regards students and a domestic situation. I can't really say more, but prayer would be awesome.

There were, however, a few good surprises when I came back. I knew that we were going to get a new housemate, but we ended up getting two! Shannon is from Indiana and will be here for a year, working with FLAC (the abuse shelter). Louis is a former volunteer who is back for the month of January helping at the preschool. His mom is actually the one who interviewed me and kept in contact with me all through the summer. It has been fun to have a few new faces and friends around the house - although I must say I was a little disappointed in Shannon and Louis. Both of them failed the "Parson Brown" test. Sigh...

As this week comes to a close, I am getting very excited for tonight. Tonight, we are hosting "The Trifecta of Birthdays" party. Basically Kim, Jenny, and I all had our birthdays in the last two weeks, so we decided to celebrate together and invited all of our CAP friends to come too. Tonight we are headed to Lexington to go to a line dancing bar. I have never been line dancing before, and, much to my chagrin, I just found out there is not a caller for line dancing, so I am fully prepared to make a fool of myself tonight - but at least I'll be with friends. We'll see how it goes!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that everyone made it home safely. Thank you for your friendship, prayers, and support. Happy New Year!

Blessings.