Home Is Where Your Heart Is

Home is ultimately not about a place to live but about the people with whom you are most fully alive. Home is about love, relationship, community, and belonging, and we are all searching for home. --- Soul Cravings by Erwin Raphael McManus

I am back home again. Christmas has come and gone and 2010 is just around the corner. It feels so surreal. It's always nice to be home even though I miss my friends in YWAM. While involved in YWAM I meet a lot of people from all over the world, but by the end of a school many of those people I will probably never see again. It's kind of depressing, but I have hope because in March I will be going back to YWAM Denver to join staff with 10 or more of my classmates. I will be signing a contract for a year. I may be there longer but I am talking it a year at a time. Right now I am not sure what types of jobs I will be doing, but I will know soon enough. Some of the jobs that I could be doing are the following: childcare, hospitality, housekeeping, helping out in the kitchen for meal preparations, miscellaneous personnel jobs, working directly with a school/disciplining students, and many other jobs. I will be working from 9 am-5 pm, Monday through Friday which leaves no time for another job. I will have several perks like being given vacation time, being with friends who are like family, etc. The biggest perk is doing what I love: serving people and loving people.

I am so excited for this next step in my life. Not only is Denver, Colorado like my home away from home, but I will be doing the thing that I have been wanting to do for the past 3 years --> to be a full time missionary. However, it is bitter-sweet to move out of my parents house and live almost 1,000 miles away from home. Nothing will ever take that feeling of love, comfort, family, and peace like being in the place where I grew up; the place filled with many memories of which I call home.

Thanksgiving at the Care Center

Thinking back on last year - I spent a couple hours helping out at a local homeless shelter and it felt so good to help people out on a day that I typically like to spend with my family. This year I am in Colorado and decided not to go home for Thanksgiving. In our school we have been doing weekly local outreaches. Myself and a few other of my classmates have been going to The Care Center almost every Monday night. (The Care Center is set up like a nursing home but the residents are mostly people with physical or mental handicaps.)We have seen the anticipation on the residents faces when we get there, and can see the sadness in their eyes when we have to leave. One lady that I have grown close to is Patty (in the pictures). She is very nice and just lights up when she sees us. I look forward to seeing her every week and just hanging out with her.

It felt so great to take a couple hours out of my Thanksgiving day to just hang out with some really cool people who didn't get to see their family this holiday. I think this is a Thanksgiving that I will always cherish.

The Leadership School Called PHASE 2

It's going into the 9th week of school for me, that means the leadership school only has 3 more weeks left. I am learning a lot about Principles in Leadership, Pitfalls in Leadership, God's Word (the importance of staying in the Word as a Leader), Faith in Finances, Effective Personal Ministry, and Strength Finders (learning about our top 5 strengths and how to effectively use our strengths in leadership). But I am also learning more about what God is calling me to do and what He wants me to work in my personal life. I have been really diligent with my time and disciplined in getting my homework done on time, if not early. I am surprised at how I haven't procrastinated much and I am wondering if I finally "grew up". :-) I do not have a love for reading, and so far a good portion of my homework has been reading books and doing book reports. But despite the busy lifestyle that is YWAM, I am learning a lot.

Moving onto other topics, the weather here has been beautiful. Colorado is always inconsistent and at the beginning of October the leaves were changing and then it snowed about a half inch so all of the beautiful leaves quickly turned into many shades of browns.

Then about a week later it snowed for about 24hrs and we got about 2 feet of snow. While it was snowing I listened to some Christmas music and dreamed of Christmas. Three days later the snow was almost gone with it reaching up into the 60's. It was nice though to get a little taste of winter and the feeling of Christmas. It was so nice.

I was thinking about touring with a band to the East Coast after my school ends on December 18th, but after thinking and praying about it more I have decided to go home after my school ends. I will be home for Christmas and I will be staying home for about 2 months. In March, I am going to come back to Colorado and be a full time missionary for at least a year. I am so excited about it, and I am so excited to discover more of what God has planned for my life.

VIdeo Blog # 6 - A Simple Update

In this Video Blog I talk about the busy months I've had working, where I work and what I do. I also talk about my near future plans.

UPDATE: on the baby Robins (Greedy & Williena Robinz) also included in this video!

Watch and Enjoy!

:-)

Making Dream Come True

My 24th birthday is tomorrow and I was trying to think of what I wanted to do on my birthday.
Many things came to mind like: go shopping, go on a romantic date, hang out with friends, go bowling with friends, etc. However, I am trying to save money and I do not have a significant other right now to go on a romantic date with. Also, I have to work. So I thought about what would make me happy... getting up early, getting the most out of my day, take some pictures of the beautiful scenery that's around me, work out and spend time with family. And that's exactly what I am going to do! :-)

I can't just sit around waiting for my dreams to come true, so I am going to make my dreams come true by doing what makes me the most happy for my birthday. And no, I'm not going to go out and find a boyfriend to go out on a romantic date. But I will do everything that is practical and cost efficient. :-)