It's been over a week and the office is still closed due to no a/c. I wanted to tell everyone that people in other countries can function in 92 degree weather with no air, but I don't think I have that much power in the office. We're trying to make due by keeping up via email, phone calls, starbucks meetings, but it's really difficult to do. My supervisor suggested that I email my professor and tell him about this delay and the potential delay that the hurricane season could bring. It's suppose to by a high active hurricane season. My initial response to hearing that? KA-RAP!
God is teaching me a lot on this internship and everytime I learn something I ask, "But did you REALLY have to go about it this way? couldn't it have been easier?" guess not.
There's honestly only one lesson God is teaching me here but it has SO many dynamics that almost every situation I've been in for the past month falls back on me learning.....
TO TRUST GOD!
Really, it's that basic! but I'm obviously not getting it! It's like I'm building my house on, well, not sand, cause I KNOW that's no good, but instead of the rock, I'm going for wooden pillars that hoist my house above the rock, so I'm not really touching the rock, but it's somewhere underneath me (just go with it for a second).
So these wooden pillars are things like, friends, kids, constant internet access, daily work to be done, and the idea that I need a husband to survive post college (thanks college).
God looked at the husband thing first, and sent me to a CCDA women's retreat/conference session with ELIZABETH PERKINS! Yep, that's John Perkins' daughter and I got to shake her hand! ***Note: None CDV folks- John Perkins is called the Father of Community Development. He is freakin' AMAZING!***
The session was called "Saved, Satisfied, and Single" and we talked about being single in ministry. It was so good to hear these women who are older than me talk about their experiences. the lesson learned was basically that Christ is MY first husband and I will (well, should) ALWAYS seek to serve him and please him first. Because I have this wonderful relationship with Christ, marriage is just the cherry on the cake, and that cherry has a pit and stem, but the cake is so rich. One wooden pillar burned.
The next one God took down was daily work. It has been ONE WEEK since I've been aloud back in the office to work because our freaking A/C still doesn't work! I've got cabin fever now and I'm trying to work past not being in the office with the staff who I need to talk to. The folks at FCFC are really my only relationships in Miami, so I'm missing my daily dose of socializing.
Pillar number 2, come on down!
oh, yeah, friends, kids and constant internet connection kind of boil down into my need to interact and socialize with people. If I'm a new person to you, I'm an extreme extrovert and need other people to survive. Well, I don't have internet at the house, I don't have friends in Miami (except folks in the office), and I'm going through child withdrawal. I was SO lonely on Sunday and Monday. Sunday night I went to bed at 9:30am because there was nothing better for me to do. I woke up in the morning and called my mom crying about how alone I am. She told me she was in the same place when she went into the army. She reminded me that I'm never alone and God is at my right hand and this is just His way of drawing my attention to that. "It's going to hurt!" she said. And it does, but pillar number 3,4,and 5, DOWN FOR THE COUNT!
So now my house has COLLAPSED onto the rock, and yeah, it HURT! but I've found so much peace and comfort here. God even gave me the gift of a young adults small group to attend on Tuesday nights at a local church! It was SO great! they're studying a Tim Keller book and a couple of the girls there are doing community development in Miami, another girl is my age and goes to FSU and will be a House Assitant (the same thing as an RA in Covenant terms). Oh, and My parents sent me a baby Orchid as a reminder of how loved I am. I named it Adler (and all the com. dev. majors laugh).
Things I've learned:
- She comes from a family of 7, went into the army, has survived raising 3 children, has worked in a maternity ward, nursing home, and elementary and middle school, how come I didn't realize how AWESOME my mom is until I turned 21?
- I will be the most aggressive driver in all of Chattanooga because of this summer. It's really interesting because people aren't angry drivers, they let you cut them off, and push your way into the lane.
Prayer Requests
- 2 words: AIR CONDITIONING!
- 2 more words: HURRICANE SEASON! it's suppose to be SUPER active this summer! pray them away!
- Good friendships through this small group.
Vaya con Dios!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
and then things started getting weird
So, This week, I've spend less than 1/3 of my time in the offices because
1. I volunteered at the CCDA women's RE conference (my host was the one who suggested it)
2. I moved into the Door house
3. we still have no air conditioning, so they've been closing super early
the women's conference was great! I made some connections with Urban Youth Workers Initiative. The coolest part was meeting Amber, the photographer. She's working with Guatamalan immigrants in West Palm. She was so cool! and she asked for my advice about how to get college students to intern with her organization.
yes, I made the move. I'm living with 2 males (an older brazilian man, and a recent college grad) and 2 other girls are moving in tomorrow. I'm not going to lie, it's awkward. I'm sure God will get me through it, and the house is well divided, so I do have a lot of privacy. It's much closer to my offices (I might consider biking there), and we're a few blocks West of Little Havana.
Yeah, no air conditioning. The office got to be 92 degrees yesterday, so we all went home around 1pm. They cancelled work today (which was great because I was supposed to be at the conference). Hopefully, by Tuesday it will be fixed.
Observations:
- There aren't any cameras on the stoplights. I couldn't figure out why, until I started noticing what the yellow light means. Slow down? no, no. keep going at your normal pace and pull out as far as you can if you have to turn so you're blocking the traffic that has the green light.
- Everyone speaks Spanish to me first, even though I'm white. Have I replied in Spanish? no. I probably should try this to get some rapport going.
- McDonalds in Miami have "Cafe Con Leche" on their menus.
- I still don't know what kind of music to listen to because there's the meriachi band style, the spanish celine dion style, and the spanish rap.
Good Stuff:
- Once we get back into air conditioning, I'm meeting with Mary and Yvonne to get a check on my formula for interviews and will start calling to set them up.
- One of my REALLY good friends called me yesterday. She mentioned John 15 about Christ being the vines, and we are his branches. She encouraged me to be in Christ everyday.
- One of my housemates is writing a book on being anti-college. He asked me to estimate how much information I've learned at Covenant I could have learned by reading books or from the internet. I said 30%. He didn't believe me. I completely disagree with his views because I thought about the things that I will forever take with me that I got from Covenant, and the majority of them weren't quotes from text books or found over the internet. They were from my professors desires to encourage, challenge, and relate to me. I thought about the one thing that I will always remember from 210:
We were discussing why there's poverty in the world. In short, we said that because of the fall, man's 4 fundamental relationships (man's relationship with God, with himself, with creation, and with others) broke. One of the effects that those 4 broken relationships have is poverty.
We then defined developmental work. Developmental work is helping others reconcile those relationships. But the key to understanding this definition is that all of us need repair to those relationships, and we as humans cannot fix those relationships, only God can.
So, the class saw the obvious problem, If we can't reconcile those relationships, what are we supposed to do?
Dr. Fikkert then proceeded to write in large bold letters "GOD HAS TO WORK!!!!" He then told us that as community development majors we were signing up for a job that we can't and never will accomplish. We're getting a degree in NOTHING. The only way our careers can work out is if we drop to our knees everyday and PRAY for a MIRACLE to happen.
Those words have stuck with me all 3 years of my college career. I couldn't have gotten that same message from a text book, definitely not in the intensity it needs to be said.
So, now I'm longing to be back learning at Covenant, but I know I'm learning a lot here.
Oh, and I've started praying for miracles.
PRAY:
- for my relationships with my housemates, that God will show me how to love my brothers and sisters in Christ during the next 2 months.
- that we can go back to the office ASAP and I can get going on these interviews!
- Contentment and joy, no matter what the day brings.
1. I volunteered at the CCDA women's RE conference (my host was the one who suggested it)
2. I moved into the Door house
3. we still have no air conditioning, so they've been closing super early
the women's conference was great! I made some connections with Urban Youth Workers Initiative. The coolest part was meeting Amber, the photographer. She's working with Guatamalan immigrants in West Palm. She was so cool! and she asked for my advice about how to get college students to intern with her organization.
yes, I made the move. I'm living with 2 males (an older brazilian man, and a recent college grad) and 2 other girls are moving in tomorrow. I'm not going to lie, it's awkward. I'm sure God will get me through it, and the house is well divided, so I do have a lot of privacy. It's much closer to my offices (I might consider biking there), and we're a few blocks West of Little Havana.
Yeah, no air conditioning. The office got to be 92 degrees yesterday, so we all went home around 1pm. They cancelled work today (which was great because I was supposed to be at the conference). Hopefully, by Tuesday it will be fixed.
Observations:
- There aren't any cameras on the stoplights. I couldn't figure out why, until I started noticing what the yellow light means. Slow down? no, no. keep going at your normal pace and pull out as far as you can if you have to turn so you're blocking the traffic that has the green light.
- Everyone speaks Spanish to me first, even though I'm white. Have I replied in Spanish? no. I probably should try this to get some rapport going.
- McDonalds in Miami have "Cafe Con Leche" on their menus.
- I still don't know what kind of music to listen to because there's the meriachi band style, the spanish celine dion style, and the spanish rap.
Good Stuff:
- Once we get back into air conditioning, I'm meeting with Mary and Yvonne to get a check on my formula for interviews and will start calling to set them up.
- One of my REALLY good friends called me yesterday. She mentioned John 15 about Christ being the vines, and we are his branches. She encouraged me to be in Christ everyday.
- One of my housemates is writing a book on being anti-college. He asked me to estimate how much information I've learned at Covenant I could have learned by reading books or from the internet. I said 30%. He didn't believe me. I completely disagree with his views because I thought about the things that I will forever take with me that I got from Covenant, and the majority of them weren't quotes from text books or found over the internet. They were from my professors desires to encourage, challenge, and relate to me. I thought about the one thing that I will always remember from 210:
We were discussing why there's poverty in the world. In short, we said that because of the fall, man's 4 fundamental relationships (man's relationship with God, with himself, with creation, and with others) broke. One of the effects that those 4 broken relationships have is poverty.
We then defined developmental work. Developmental work is helping others reconcile those relationships. But the key to understanding this definition is that all of us need repair to those relationships, and we as humans cannot fix those relationships, only God can.
So, the class saw the obvious problem, If we can't reconcile those relationships, what are we supposed to do?
Dr. Fikkert then proceeded to write in large bold letters "GOD HAS TO WORK!!!!" He then told us that as community development majors we were signing up for a job that we can't and never will accomplish. We're getting a degree in NOTHING. The only way our careers can work out is if we drop to our knees everyday and PRAY for a MIRACLE to happen.
Those words have stuck with me all 3 years of my college career. I couldn't have gotten that same message from a text book, definitely not in the intensity it needs to be said.
So, now I'm longing to be back learning at Covenant, but I know I'm learning a lot here.
Oh, and I've started praying for miracles.
PRAY:
- for my relationships with my housemates, that God will show me how to love my brothers and sisters in Christ during the next 2 months.
- that we can go back to the office ASAP and I can get going on these interviews!
- Contentment and joy, no matter what the day brings.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Hoy, estoy interno internacional
More like this entire weekend, I've felt like a typical international com. dev. intern. Here's why:
1. I had to go to Starbucks to get internet. Not quite like an internet cafe, but close enough.
2. I had Latino fast food. Which is NOTHING like American fast food. We went to a place called "La Palacia de Jugos" (the fruit palace). The building itself had 2 complete walls, the other two had open archways and windows without glass in them. It was like one of the chinese food places at a mall where you stood in line and pointed at what you wanted. We got Plantains, chicken, and yummy rice with every kind of green vegetable possible in it.
3. I went to a pentecostal church that was predominantly Haitian. The building itself was a LOT like EPC (my church in Cape Coral). but the worship was like New City Fellowship on steroids. We sang songs that I learned at NCF, but they had dancers, trumpets, flags, everything! It wasn't just a culturally diverse congregation, it was culturally diverse worship. It was incredible (and it made me REALLY want to go to Haiti). Oh, and the church was celebrating it's 90 year anniversary. NINETY YEARS!
4. I didn't celebrate Memorial Day. I mean, I had the day off and everything, but we didn't do anything special. It made me kind of homesick (mom, don't cry). Normally, I'd have gone over to my Grandparents house, played a few games of Scum or Skip-bo with my Aunt, Grandparents, and immediate family. My Grandfather would have grilled some form of beef while my Grandmother prepared potatoes, and my Aunt a delicious salad. We would have squeezed around the table, all cooing over 2 year old Ruthee and throwing sarcastic comments to each other here and there (only when things got dull). We would enjoy dessert while my Grandfather read their daily devotions and have said a prayer for all the veterans and their families. Instead, I was kept from any downtown/beach area because of Hip Hop weekend, and I went to Starbucks, and wrote papers.
5. The airconditioning isn't working in the office this week (something with the roof being fixed, I really don't understand). And it's raining outside, so The office is a bit warm and humid. And when I came in today, all the conversations that were being held were in Espanol. Shoot, I don't need to go over seas for a cross-cultural experience!
So, those are the reasons why I don't feel like I'm in America any more. But I love the diversity in Miami. There are people who sell stuff at every stoplight (mostly cold water, fresh fruit or the most beautiful flowers).Yvonne informed me that they're most likely illegal immigrants, I asked her if she ever bought stuff from them. She said that she had on numerous occasion because they sell them for really cheap. She said it just came down to survival. No one asks to see the store clerks papers, they're just going to go to whoever sells it for the cheapest.
It makes me excited about where I'll be living from Thursday on. The house I'm living in is a few blocks West of Little Havana. I've been through it twice or so since being in Miami and it's WONDERFUL! I don't understand it's bad reputation, I mean, yeah, don't go out there at night, but that's no different than MLK blvd in Ft. Myers or Alton Park in Chattanooga.
Anyways, this week I'll be starting to call other mentoring programs (probably not today because it's extremely loud in the office with all the fans going on), I'll be helping with the Women's RE: Conference run by the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association. aka- COOLEST PEOPLE EVER!!!), And I will have completed two out of five of my short paper requirements for the internship class.
sus oraciones son muy apreciadas!
Sus amo muy mucho, amigos y mi familia!
Vaya con Dios
1. I had to go to Starbucks to get internet. Not quite like an internet cafe, but close enough.
2. I had Latino fast food. Which is NOTHING like American fast food. We went to a place called "La Palacia de Jugos" (the fruit palace). The building itself had 2 complete walls, the other two had open archways and windows without glass in them. It was like one of the chinese food places at a mall where you stood in line and pointed at what you wanted. We got Plantains, chicken, and yummy rice with every kind of green vegetable possible in it.
3. I went to a pentecostal church that was predominantly Haitian. The building itself was a LOT like EPC (my church in Cape Coral). but the worship was like New City Fellowship on steroids. We sang songs that I learned at NCF, but they had dancers, trumpets, flags, everything! It wasn't just a culturally diverse congregation, it was culturally diverse worship. It was incredible (and it made me REALLY want to go to Haiti). Oh, and the church was celebrating it's 90 year anniversary. NINETY YEARS!
4. I didn't celebrate Memorial Day. I mean, I had the day off and everything, but we didn't do anything special. It made me kind of homesick (mom, don't cry). Normally, I'd have gone over to my Grandparents house, played a few games of Scum or Skip-bo with my Aunt, Grandparents, and immediate family. My Grandfather would have grilled some form of beef while my Grandmother prepared potatoes, and my Aunt a delicious salad. We would have squeezed around the table, all cooing over 2 year old Ruthee and throwing sarcastic comments to each other here and there (only when things got dull). We would enjoy dessert while my Grandfather read their daily devotions and have said a prayer for all the veterans and their families. Instead, I was kept from any downtown/beach area because of Hip Hop weekend, and I went to Starbucks, and wrote papers.
5. The airconditioning isn't working in the office this week (something with the roof being fixed, I really don't understand). And it's raining outside, so The office is a bit warm and humid. And when I came in today, all the conversations that were being held were in Espanol. Shoot, I don't need to go over seas for a cross-cultural experience!
So, those are the reasons why I don't feel like I'm in America any more. But I love the diversity in Miami. There are people who sell stuff at every stoplight (mostly cold water, fresh fruit or the most beautiful flowers).Yvonne informed me that they're most likely illegal immigrants, I asked her if she ever bought stuff from them. She said that she had on numerous occasion because they sell them for really cheap. She said it just came down to survival. No one asks to see the store clerks papers, they're just going to go to whoever sells it for the cheapest.
It makes me excited about where I'll be living from Thursday on. The house I'm living in is a few blocks West of Little Havana. I've been through it twice or so since being in Miami and it's WONDERFUL! I don't understand it's bad reputation, I mean, yeah, don't go out there at night, but that's no different than MLK blvd in Ft. Myers or Alton Park in Chattanooga.
Anyways, this week I'll be starting to call other mentoring programs (probably not today because it's extremely loud in the office with all the fans going on), I'll be helping with the Women's RE: Conference run by the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association. aka- COOLEST PEOPLE EVER!!!), And I will have completed two out of five of my short paper requirements for the internship class.
sus oraciones son muy apreciadas!
Sus amo muy mucho, amigos y mi familia!
Vaya con Dios
Thursday, May 27, 2010
On the spiritual side of life.
Yesterday was a frustrating and depressing day for me, and not really because of any direct event that occurred, but because of this pinching thorn in my side called jealousy. For those of you who don't know, I worked at summer camp last year, and thought that God had created that job specifically for me. i got paid to run around screaming, making crafts, and sharing the gospel with kids. Not only that, but I had an amazing staff to work with who quickly became like family to me. Well, yesterday was the first day of training for my camp friends, and I was so jealous that I couldn't do camp again. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Camp looked SO much better than my internship. I have friends or would definitely make friends at camp, here, I'm still not sure I'm anyone's friend, I would know exactly what I'm doing each day, here, I'm at the mercy of others to determine what I'll be doing.
The idea that absolutely killed me yesterday was this, Camp was straight up evangelism, asset mapping mentoring programs? not at all. I was furious that God would have me do this instead! I couldn't understand why God would use me last summer and show me that He can use me to reach out to kids, but stick me in an office with adults who are already Christians this summer.
After a very quite and slow dinner, I went up to my room and pulled out a special box. The box itself isn't anything special, it's an old Tevas shoe box with my name written on it in sharpie. it's what's inside the box that I treasure so much. Since freshman year of college, I've kept all the notes and letters and pictures people have given me. I pull them out and read them whenever I'm depressed or nostalgic.
I started reading some of them, and some of them had pretty powerful statements on them. Friends telling me that they know God's going to use me in amazing ways; I have tremendous gifts that I should use in as many ways as possible. I wanted to call those friends up and ask, "who the heck do you think I am?!?! I'm not that gifted, I don't think God's going to use me in amazing ways!"
I came across some others that told me that God will use me, if I only continue to submit humbly ; That the reasons for me being here, now, will be made clear if I pursue God with every ounce of my being. I thought, "Seriously, I'm sick of submitting to the unknown and the vague!"
That's when I felt more like a combination of Moses and Peter. I most certainly have not trusted that God will use the way he's created me to share His gospel of love with Miami, even though he 's proved his power to do this over and over to me. I've gone into the unknown before, keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, but once I got to Miami, I looked away and fell in.
please pray for joy and contentment in my work. That God will let me see the fruits of my labor and the effects of that on the furthering of His Kingdom in Miami. It's not as familiar as camp, but that only forces me to trust God more to use me in miraculous ways.
The idea that absolutely killed me yesterday was this, Camp was straight up evangelism, asset mapping mentoring programs? not at all. I was furious that God would have me do this instead! I couldn't understand why God would use me last summer and show me that He can use me to reach out to kids, but stick me in an office with adults who are already Christians this summer.
After a very quite and slow dinner, I went up to my room and pulled out a special box. The box itself isn't anything special, it's an old Tevas shoe box with my name written on it in sharpie. it's what's inside the box that I treasure so much. Since freshman year of college, I've kept all the notes and letters and pictures people have given me. I pull them out and read them whenever I'm depressed or nostalgic.
I started reading some of them, and some of them had pretty powerful statements on them. Friends telling me that they know God's going to use me in amazing ways; I have tremendous gifts that I should use in as many ways as possible. I wanted to call those friends up and ask, "who the heck do you think I am?!?! I'm not that gifted, I don't think God's going to use me in amazing ways!"
I came across some others that told me that God will use me, if I only continue to submit humbly ; That the reasons for me being here, now, will be made clear if I pursue God with every ounce of my being. I thought, "Seriously, I'm sick of submitting to the unknown and the vague!"
That's when I felt more like a combination of Moses and Peter. I most certainly have not trusted that God will use the way he's created me to share His gospel of love with Miami, even though he 's proved his power to do this over and over to me. I've gone into the unknown before, keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, but once I got to Miami, I looked away and fell in.
please pray for joy and contentment in my work. That God will let me see the fruits of my labor and the effects of that on the furthering of His Kingdom in Miami. It's not as familiar as camp, but that only forces me to trust God more to use me in miraculous ways.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Estoy haciendo algunas ecepciones
So, this whole communication fast thing, needed some tweaking ("t-w-e-a-k-i-n-g...well, that's it. He's married. with 3 kids." gold star to whoever recognizes that quote). See, I only get internet in the office, not at the house, which is when I'd normally be distracted by outside communication. Since that's the case, I've been forced to be intentional with my host family (either that or I just sit in my room from 7pm-7am. LAME-O). At the office, I'm normally jumping from job to job and talking with different people anyways. When I'm not, like right now, everyone around me is busy. I haven't been on facebook, which I'll keep off of for a while longer, and I haven't sent a text message until this morning and that was planned and that was to all my C3 family.
Anywho, blogging and restricted emails to my prayer partner and fellow interns are now allowed. texting, facebook, and excess emails are not.
So, here's what's been going on.
Saturday: babysat for the successful marriage counseling training event. I miss kids a lot!
Sunday: went to Citi Church. Chattanooga residents: picture a New City Fellowship without the Presbyterian title and a Hispanic Randy Nabors and VOILA! you have Citi Church. The worship was incredible! There was music, shouting, dancing, laughing, crying it was almost like a small small picture of Heaven. I got to go dress shopping with Yvonne and her 13 year old mentee who needed a white graduation dress. And, the Sawyers other son came home from studying abroad in Europe. He knew I was going to be there and brought me Swiss chocolate. I wanted to cry when he gave it to me because I haven't had chocolate in at least 13 days, and it was Swiss!
Monday: Mary asked me to look into this Christian youth mentoring network that's national. She also invited me to their staff meeting about their next mentoring orientation. So, I sat in there, not really expecting to say anything; then she asks me for my opinion on the last orientation I sat in. I gave my honest opinion and they took my advice! me, the little college intern who's had no social work experience and only been in the office for a week, gave advice that changed the way they ran their next orientation! HOLLER! We also had another "Family" dinner at my hosts' house. The 2 youngest sons are hilarious! and musicians! I've heard them practicing or playing their music at night.
Tuesday: I helped Mary put together her power point for her part of the orientation. It was interesting because the secretary, Lilly, told me how much she hates power point because she doesn't really use it. I told her I hated it because I had to use it for every stupid high school project and sometimes at Covenant. I also helped stuff the packets for the attendees for the orientation and got stuff together for that. We then went to Cross Bridge Church to run the orientation (during which I was taking notes), and then went home.
The Random Observations:
- the phones in the office are extremely loud, no one puts them up to their ears, they hold them against the side of their face.
- Friday, Mary and Lily told be about Memorial day weekend on Miami beach. It’s Hip Hip Weekend and they told me not to even think about going out there. A lot of crap happens then.
- The Miami Herold featured an article on microfinancing in Haiti. I sent it to Dr. Mask and Kevin. Dr. Masks' response to it? "Greetings, you micorfinance monster!" oh...no...
- Florida water has a very distinct taste, even if it’s filtered.
- Jorge (from accounting) makes Café Cubano EVERY DAY he comes into work! Friday is no longer my
favorite day.
- If anything bad happens to me, it will most likely be a car accident because people here, are MANIACS! Normally, car horns startle me and make me sheepish, but here, I don’t care.
The Problems:
- still no response from the email I sent out. I'm praying a LOT right now that God just reminds them to respond. If I don't hear anything by lunch, I'm hunting some folks down. I need to start setting up interviews!
- Because I'm not "doing anything", I'm the candidate for a lot of other jobs, which is fine, but I'm getting a little nervous about people remembering I'm here to complete a very specific task. and those who are giving me the extra jobs? they're the ones I need to meet with so I can start calling for interviews.
- holy Cynicism, batman! The head of the organization says a LOT of negative things about the church, other programs, the local and national government, schools, etc. and it is driving me CRAZY! but I don't know how to deal with it, so I let him rant on in hopes that something positive will come out of my mouth.....eventually
The Good Stuff:
- I'm getting to know my host brothers better. they are AWESOME!
- I'm getting to know the staff better and they really trust and value me and my work.
- I've adapted to the culture. And by "adapted" I mean that I'm no longer in shock by some of the outfits people choose to wear or by the dramatic changes between geographical locations, and
Estoy estudiando espanol todos las noches.
- I'm getting use to spicy foods.
Gracias para tus oraciones!
Rebeca
Anywho, blogging and restricted emails to my prayer partner and fellow interns are now allowed. texting, facebook, and excess emails are not.
So, here's what's been going on.
Saturday: babysat for the successful marriage counseling training event. I miss kids a lot!
Sunday: went to Citi Church. Chattanooga residents: picture a New City Fellowship without the Presbyterian title and a Hispanic Randy Nabors and VOILA! you have Citi Church. The worship was incredible! There was music, shouting, dancing, laughing, crying it was almost like a small small picture of Heaven. I got to go dress shopping with Yvonne and her 13 year old mentee who needed a white graduation dress. And, the Sawyers other son came home from studying abroad in Europe. He knew I was going to be there and brought me Swiss chocolate. I wanted to cry when he gave it to me because I haven't had chocolate in at least 13 days, and it was Swiss!
Monday: Mary asked me to look into this Christian youth mentoring network that's national. She also invited me to their staff meeting about their next mentoring orientation. So, I sat in there, not really expecting to say anything; then she asks me for my opinion on the last orientation I sat in. I gave my honest opinion and they took my advice! me, the little college intern who's had no social work experience and only been in the office for a week, gave advice that changed the way they ran their next orientation! HOLLER! We also had another "Family" dinner at my hosts' house. The 2 youngest sons are hilarious! and musicians! I've heard them practicing or playing their music at night.
Tuesday: I helped Mary put together her power point for her part of the orientation. It was interesting because the secretary, Lilly, told me how much she hates power point because she doesn't really use it. I told her I hated it because I had to use it for every stupid high school project and sometimes at Covenant. I also helped stuff the packets for the attendees for the orientation and got stuff together for that. We then went to Cross Bridge Church to run the orientation (during which I was taking notes), and then went home.
The Random Observations:
- the phones in the office are extremely loud, no one puts them up to their ears, they hold them against the side of their face.
- Friday, Mary and Lily told be about Memorial day weekend on Miami beach. It’s Hip Hip Weekend and they told me not to even think about going out there. A lot of crap happens then.
- The Miami Herold featured an article on microfinancing in Haiti. I sent it to Dr. Mask and Kevin. Dr. Masks' response to it? "Greetings, you micorfinance monster!" oh...no...
- Florida water has a very distinct taste, even if it’s filtered.
- Jorge (from accounting) makes Café Cubano EVERY DAY he comes into work! Friday is no longer my
favorite day.
- If anything bad happens to me, it will most likely be a car accident because people here, are MANIACS! Normally, car horns startle me and make me sheepish, but here, I don’t care.
The Problems:
- still no response from the email I sent out. I'm praying a LOT right now that God just reminds them to respond. If I don't hear anything by lunch, I'm hunting some folks down. I need to start setting up interviews!
- Because I'm not "doing anything", I'm the candidate for a lot of other jobs, which is fine, but I'm getting a little nervous about people remembering I'm here to complete a very specific task. and those who are giving me the extra jobs? they're the ones I need to meet with so I can start calling for interviews.
- holy Cynicism, batman! The head of the organization says a LOT of negative things about the church, other programs, the local and national government, schools, etc. and it is driving me CRAZY! but I don't know how to deal with it, so I let him rant on in hopes that something positive will come out of my mouth.....eventually
The Good Stuff:
- I'm getting to know my host brothers better. they are AWESOME!
- I'm getting to know the staff better and they really trust and value me and my work.
- I've adapted to the culture. And by "adapted" I mean that I'm no longer in shock by some of the outfits people choose to wear or by the dramatic changes between geographical locations, and
Estoy estudiando espanol todos las noches.
- I'm getting use to spicy foods.
Gracias para tus oraciones!
Rebeca
Friday, May 21, 2010
"como se dice.....success.....y...frustration?"
Shwell, on Wednesday, Mary came back and I felt a great peace about my summer as she was giving me a detailed overview of what they want me to do. I almost cried (out of joy!) when she handed me a notebook FULL of research and resources they already had. She also gave me a brief overview of their attempt to create the Mentoring Network of Miami. The notebook had almost EVERYTHING from the preparation for this, everything down to emails that said things like,"hey, here are some questions I have...". AND! they already researched and collecting contact information from most 22 of the mentoring programs in Miami. Com. Dev. Asset Mapping intern's DREAM COME TRUE! So, flipping through the book, I came up with a TON of questions about this attempt which Mary answered for me and referenced me to other staff members for answers to other questions.
So, between Wednesday and today, here's what I've done:
- Typed up a detailed history of FCFC's attempt to start MNM (some details still missing).
- Type up a questionnaire for my interviews with the mentoring programs
- Started writing a consent form, got frustrated with how fake it sounded, and moved on with my life (I do plan on coming back to this, no fears)
- Worked on my expanded field notes a bit.
- Observed a training orientation run by FCFC at a local church.
- chopped celery, peppers and broccoli (yeah, I'll come back to this in a second)
- sent an email out to some staff members asking if I could meet with each of them. (yeah, I'll come back to this one, too).
THE PROBLEMS
1. My host continuously tells me how he wants me to have a "well-rounded" experience, not just sit and read about things. Great! all about the hands on thing...however, I don't think he finds my research to be a priority. After the mentoring orientation he told me that he thought observations were dead ends and asked me how helpful they'll really be to my research. I explained that they are EXTREMELY crucial to my research and make up about 35%-50% of my data. He isn't too sure about it still (It's like trying to convince Dr. Mask that Asset Mapping is REAL RESEARCH). This morning, I was partaking in a VERY interesting conversation about Amachi when I was pulled away to chop vegetables for the Marriage Conference FCFC's hosting this weekend. yeah, kinda frustrating.
2. Yeah, that email? Sent it out yesterday to 5 people, all whom I met face-to-face and have had some interactions with. I must have been to nice (I know, weird, right?) because NONE of them have responded! It made me kind of nervous, because me and my crazy anxieties thought about the possibility that they don't care or understand my research. So, that thought is now being sat on by a mammoth of a thought called, "CALM DOWN!".
THE LESSONS
1. "Do everything without complaining"....anyone have a song stuck in their head now (haha!) yeah, I know that I missed an important conversation, but the questions that came into my head during that time will come up again, I can get those answers anythime. It wasn't like I was being kept from an interview with an organization or anything like that. And if that does happen, I can easily say, "no." but right now, I'm waiting for the OK to start interviewing, I've got time to chop!
2. "Be Patient, Don't worry"....anyone have another song stuck in their head? haha!
So, People are busy around here. they all have like 50 million different responsibilities to worry about. I need to be super patient because, contrary to my personal beliefs, I'M NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON AND MY RESEARCH IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK! yeah, stickin' that on a post-it note where I can see it everyday. in addition to this kind of patience, I have to be patience with miscommunication and misunderstandings. If someone thinks that my observations are pointless, so what? as long as I can still conduct them, it's fine, it's not a battle I have to fight or a grudge to hold against them.
BRIEFING
so, I realize this was a super long post, but it's where I'm at right now. And I won't be blogging for a while (this is my last day of internet access before my communications fast).
Your prayers are always desired!
So, between Wednesday and today, here's what I've done:
- Typed up a detailed history of FCFC's attempt to start MNM (some details still missing).
- Type up a questionnaire for my interviews with the mentoring programs
- Started writing a consent form, got frustrated with how fake it sounded, and moved on with my life (I do plan on coming back to this, no fears)
- Worked on my expanded field notes a bit.
- Observed a training orientation run by FCFC at a local church.
- chopped celery, peppers and broccoli (yeah, I'll come back to this in a second)
- sent an email out to some staff members asking if I could meet with each of them. (yeah, I'll come back to this one, too).
THE PROBLEMS
1. My host continuously tells me how he wants me to have a "well-rounded" experience, not just sit and read about things. Great! all about the hands on thing...however, I don't think he finds my research to be a priority. After the mentoring orientation he told me that he thought observations were dead ends and asked me how helpful they'll really be to my research. I explained that they are EXTREMELY crucial to my research and make up about 35%-50% of my data. He isn't too sure about it still (It's like trying to convince Dr. Mask that Asset Mapping is REAL RESEARCH). This morning, I was partaking in a VERY interesting conversation about Amachi when I was pulled away to chop vegetables for the Marriage Conference FCFC's hosting this weekend. yeah, kinda frustrating.
2. Yeah, that email? Sent it out yesterday to 5 people, all whom I met face-to-face and have had some interactions with. I must have been to nice (I know, weird, right?) because NONE of them have responded! It made me kind of nervous, because me and my crazy anxieties thought about the possibility that they don't care or understand my research. So, that thought is now being sat on by a mammoth of a thought called, "CALM DOWN!".
THE LESSONS
1. "Do everything without complaining"....anyone have a song stuck in their head now (haha!) yeah, I know that I missed an important conversation, but the questions that came into my head during that time will come up again, I can get those answers anythime. It wasn't like I was being kept from an interview with an organization or anything like that. And if that does happen, I can easily say, "no." but right now, I'm waiting for the OK to start interviewing, I've got time to chop!
2. "Be Patient, Don't worry"....anyone have another song stuck in their head? haha!
So, People are busy around here. they all have like 50 million different responsibilities to worry about. I need to be super patient because, contrary to my personal beliefs, I'M NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON AND MY RESEARCH IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK! yeah, stickin' that on a post-it note where I can see it everyday. in addition to this kind of patience, I have to be patience with miscommunication and misunderstandings. If someone thinks that my observations are pointless, so what? as long as I can still conduct them, it's fine, it's not a battle I have to fight or a grudge to hold against them.
BRIEFING
so, I realize this was a super long post, but it's where I'm at right now. And I won't be blogging for a while (this is my last day of internet access before my communications fast).
Your prayers are always desired!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
bebo cafe' todos las dias
yep. that's about the extend of my Espanol right now. I spend 2 hours working through a Spanish grammar book and attempted to memorize some of the verbs, but by this morning, Beber (to drink) is the only one I could remember.
I know I'm blogging a lot, but that's because it's a good way for me to process this new environment. I plan on starting my communication fast next week. For those of you who didn't get that speech,
Communication Fast: Prof. Corbett's strong suggestion for domestic interns to cut themselves off from all forms of communication outside the context their working in. That means phone calls, texts messages, facebook, blogs, etc. I will only answer calls and emails from folks in Miami. I hope to do this for 2 weeks to a month.
But that's next week, and write now my head is spinning with all that's going on! it's a good thing, it's kinda overwhelming. Dr. Mask has turned me into an observation monster. There are a lot of little things that I'd love to stop and focus on, but I have to move past it. A lot of ethical and research issues have already come up that I'd like to examine, but I can't!
Mary, my supervisor and the person I'll be working the most with, is supposed to be back from her vacation today. According to Yvonne, my job is going to be making a whole lot of intentional contact with the heads of the smaller mentoring programs in the area to get this thing started.
The baseball game Monday night was very interesting. We passed out fliers about the mentoring program. One of the guys' attention grabber was to ask people "would you like to be a mentor?" It definitely worked because it was straight forward, it wasn't anything unattractive like "want to fill out a survey?" or "timeshare in Orlando?" but it got some interesting reactions. Some people were lured in by it, others were scared white by that question. I never thought that word "Mentor" would cause such humility and shame in people. I started thinking about it and realized the pressure that comes with that title. Think about someone who you consider to be your mentor, think about how flawless they look in your eyes and then think about some stranger asking you if you want to be like them. Yeah, scary!
Well, back to reading up on mentoring and trying to translate the Spanish conversations that go on here at the office.
I know I'm blogging a lot, but that's because it's a good way for me to process this new environment. I plan on starting my communication fast next week. For those of you who didn't get that speech,
Communication Fast: Prof. Corbett's strong suggestion for domestic interns to cut themselves off from all forms of communication outside the context their working in. That means phone calls, texts messages, facebook, blogs, etc. I will only answer calls and emails from folks in Miami. I hope to do this for 2 weeks to a month.
But that's next week, and write now my head is spinning with all that's going on! it's a good thing, it's kinda overwhelming. Dr. Mask has turned me into an observation monster. There are a lot of little things that I'd love to stop and focus on, but I have to move past it. A lot of ethical and research issues have already come up that I'd like to examine, but I can't!
Mary, my supervisor and the person I'll be working the most with, is supposed to be back from her vacation today. According to Yvonne, my job is going to be making a whole lot of intentional contact with the heads of the smaller mentoring programs in the area to get this thing started.
The baseball game Monday night was very interesting. We passed out fliers about the mentoring program. One of the guys' attention grabber was to ask people "would you like to be a mentor?" It definitely worked because it was straight forward, it wasn't anything unattractive like "want to fill out a survey?" or "timeshare in Orlando?" but it got some interesting reactions. Some people were lured in by it, others were scared white by that question. I never thought that word "Mentor" would cause such humility and shame in people. I started thinking about it and realized the pressure that comes with that title. Think about someone who you consider to be your mentor, think about how flawless they look in your eyes and then think about some stranger asking you if you want to be like them. Yeah, scary!
Well, back to reading up on mentoring and trying to translate the Spanish conversations that go on here at the office.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)