A few notable things...

Things have felt even busier this past couple of weeks. It's been a bit of a roller coaster as we try and figure out how to bring unity to our team and catch the vision together. I am both physically and emotionally worn-out but trying to find rest, peace and joy at the speed we are moving. I thought I would share some of the things we have been up to aside from the work with the kids because that is equally as important in my eyes! 

As we don't have a washing machine in the house, we all use the launderette down the road. I have personally come to enjoy the experience as they have a tv with cable and I can get an hour to myself where I can watch Ellen and wait for my clothes to dry. Last time I went, it was just after we'd had a load more snow and the owner wasn't particularly expecting anyone to drag a laundry bin through knee deep precipitation. He was wrong. I was out of dresses. We got talking and he enjoyed the fact that I was English, he was Polish I think and said that moving to America was the worst decision he made because it's crazy here. I didn't really know what to say so we talked a bit about me leaving a sock in the washing machine by accident and then watched a bit of the Winter Olympics together. 

I wanted to write about this a while ago, but just couldn't find the time! We are 'hosted' here by a local Church who wanted to offer extra support to us interns. The Church is Presbyterian, which is a popular denomination in the States but not so common in the UK. It is leagues away from what I'm used to, but I love it! The first time I went there, I had people running up to me after the service excited to see me because they had been awaiting my arrival. They quickly found the PG Tips and popped the kettle on, so I guess my reputation goes before me! We have dined twice at one families house, this Sunday was lovely because I went with them on a dog walk, we drank tea, played board games and I walked away with a huge pile of magazines full of recipes. I also got invited this week to join a lovely Canadian lady whose husband has just got a job that involves travel over to Sheffield, so we talked a lot about England. She put oxo cubes in our soup, so that was nice! We also drank tea. Not only that, but we go to a weekly group study at a couple's home not too far from us and enjoy snacks and tea. That time together has really helped us to grow as a team and I am grateful for that. Also, for all the tea I am offered.

Yesterday, we had most of the day off and decided to use that to go and have fun together. It just so happened that the fun was taking place in Philadelphia so it was nice for me to see some new scenery:

It was a bit rainy as you can see, but the weather is getting much warmer now so I'll soon be making the switch from boots to sandals in celebration. 

We went to a place called Dave and Busters which is a sports bar come amusement arcade come restaurant. We all ate together, watched some olympics and celebrated the fact that TEA WAS ON FREE REFILS:

Bravo, Dave. Bravo, Buster.

Everytime you won on one of your games, you were given tickets which turned into prizes in the store. We weren't there for that long but most of us managed to get some tickets:

 It was nice to get out of Delaware as I've not had chance to do much travel yet because there's so much work to be done. Which is fair enough, I'm here to do a job! I made the decision this week that I would cut down my hours at Urban Promise and use those hours to do more with YFC. As much as I love UP, I know that I could be doing so much more here at the Center as we try and put together solid programs and arrange summer trips. I'm just going to go to Urban Promise one day a week and they have asked that I help do some data-input which sadly, I love doing. I will miss 'Crafts with Miss Sarah,' though! The last time I did crafts, one of the kids asked if I was an artist! I loved it. 

Everything had to be made from hearts!

We're excited about where we are headed with our work here and I am looking forward to getting stuff on the calendar. Next week, we are having a whole day dedicated to planning and getting everything in place so I look forward to sharing with you all what that will look like. So many of our kids have hardly left Delaware so I am hopeful that we can give them some great experiences that could potentially be life changing. We have so much support which is very encouraging! 

As for me, I am feeling glad that it's the weekend and have so far today decided to do nothing other than wash. I have an engagement this afternoon to, guess what, DRINK TEA with a friend. Ha!  Have a great weekend!

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What a difference a day makes...

This week, I have been dwelling on the need to take each day as it comes. Youth Ministry often has no pattern, no set expectations and no guarantees. One week or even one session can feel like you've reached the top of a mountain and the next day feels like you're back in the valley ready to start again. The kids can arrive in a great mood, making planned activities easy and fun or, they can arrive in a mood whereby no activities can happen because your whole time with them is spent getting them to do as they are asked. You just never do know. 

I can't go into every day here expecting to see great results of the work I've put in. I can't expect that the kids will walk into this center, full of manners, calm attitudes, respect for the rules and full co-operation. If I expect that, I am going to be very disheartened very quickly. I may as well not even bother! The aim here, is to take each session we have as a fresh start. What happened with the kids on Monday is in the past, we do not dwell, we move on to today and we do so with renewed hope and enthusiasm. 

This is probably one of the toughest places I will ever find myself. The environment here is such a tough one to crack, the attitudes that the kids have been taught, if they have been given the time by their parents to be taught; are very difficult to challenge. This can't be done in a day, but little by little; one seed at a time. Last week I was speaking to one of the guys who came to the drop in as he asked me to make some more popcorn for them. I told him that if he spoke to me properly, then I would do it. We went through the right way to ask for something and threw some pleases and thank you's in there. On Monday, he approached me and said 'can I have some soda, please?' That for me, was a success. That is the size of the success we have to take here. 

The kids who come here will never know the hours we agonise over how we can love them better, how we can change ourselves to better suit their needs, how to respond to situations they present us with, how to deal with things well so we don't risk losing them. But that to me is the true beauty of what we do. They think we just open up the center a couple of days a week and that's it. They will never truly know the personal sacrifices, the headaches, the sleepless nights and the light bulb moments at 2am that we go through to find the strength to open those doors each time. But they don't need to know. It is up to us to find the hope for each day and the opportunities that brings. It is up to us to celebrate every success, big or small. It is up to us to bring transformation drop by drop through our Faithfulness to this cause and remain prepared for anything. 

It's a good job that we believe in a great big ever-loving God.

Love, S x

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Recent Reflections.

After all the years I had been wanting to come to work in America, this would be the last place I would've thought I'd find myself. A tea-drinking, dress only wearing, Pride & Prejudice loving Yorkshire lass thrown into inner city urban youth ministry. In everyway, I am completely opposite to these kids but am compelled by a love greater than my insecurities and physical boundaries to do my best to give them some hope. 

Just yesterday, I volunteered to help at a different camp with Urban Promise as mine is closed whilst the leaders are recruiting interns for the summer. Myself and Joni had to walk to meet them at a designated point so that we could all walk to the camp together. I had never been to this camp before, and wasn't sure that I knew any of the kids. As we were walking down a street I had never before walked down, I suddenly heard a chorus of 'MISS SARAHHHHHH,' followed by two kids running towards me and throwing their arms around me. I guess I had met some of them before! The two of them came on the retreat I attended a couple of weeks ago, but never in my wildest dreams had I thought they would remember me. I think I sat with them perhaps for an hour that entire weekend. 

As we walked, one of the girls I had just met promptly grabbed my hand and would not let go for the duration of the journey. What really struck me was, as she was sweetly holding my hand - she was also making threats to one of the other girls if she 'rolled her eyes ONE MORE TIME!!!!' I had to explain to her that sometimes in life, we might have to learn to love people we don't like. That's a hard lesson for anyone, let alone a 5th grader I just met 5 minutes ago. 

'According to Jesus, in the hierarchy of spiritual acts and activities, love tops them all. Move over virginity, church attendance, group dating, morning devotions and crucifixion jewelry. Love is the new king of the mountain.

That means we don’t get to ignore the co-worker who drives us crazy, despise the neighbor who parties too loudly, condemn the relative who votes differently than we do or hate the boss who makes life miserable. Whether we like a person or not, we are commanded to love.

In the language of grace, love is both the exception and the rule.

If anyone knew how to love people who weren’t very likable, it was Jesus. After all, He spent three years in the company of Judas, who was stealing, manipulating and scheming to betray Him.' (Taken from here)

I was sat a few days ago at my own Urban Promise camp with one of the 5th graders who was writing down some goals for his future. I told him about how when I was in High School, I wrote a list like that of my own:

Eight years ago, I knew what I wanted to do and I worked hard to get there. I never knew how it would look, where it would take me or who it would take me to. It hit me in that moment as I told him about my list and how I had achieved it all.  I saw the smile appear on his face as he thought about the things he could do and that was so exciting for me. I realised as we were talking that I needed to add a few things to my list! 

Here I am, so far from home - knowing that I'm having these conversations with kids who might not hear a positive word that day, especially the kids who come to the YFC Center. I may think of these words as insignificant but to someone who has no or little hope, who knows what might come of that. This may not be a place that I would ever have chosen for myself, but I am sure that I can find enough reasons to love it, even if I don't always like it!

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