This week has been very good, but exhausting. I'm so happy for the relaxed day today. Granted, it won't be so relaxed when I start to tackle my loan paperwork again after lunch, but I'm enjoying the peace while I've got it right now.
I've had a very good few days at work. At SBEC I've been doing the job retention classes, which are different everyday depending on who I have coming. It feels so good to end a 2 hour long session knowing we've made some progress.
The kids at the Kid's Cafe are growing on me more and more everyday, and it honestly breaks my heart to have to tell them every Wednesday that I won't be there the next day. Yesterday I had more kids than usual wanting my attention and seeking me out to play. It was the first time in the two weeks that I've been there that I had any of the boys actually want to hang out and play a game or two. It's exciting that they are starting to warm up to me more everyday. I'm not just the random white girl in the room anymore, I'm Miss Carrie, I'm here almost everyday, and I really enjoy spending time with you. Progress, I love it.
Two other women got hired about the same time I came on as a volunteer, and yesterday the three of us walked down to the street corner to watch the kids as they walked over from school. The kids were screwing around, shoving, fighting, running in the streets. They were going nuts. As I stood out there, a Sister who lives nearby had come out too, and we were chatting as we watched the kids acting wild and praying no one got hit by a car. She asked me if the kids were difficult to handle at the Cafe, and I said "of course there are hard days, but good too. With so many kids, you never really know what you're in for day to day."
Not long after I said that, one of our younger girls started to cross the street, she saw me and yelled "MISS CARRRRIIIIEEEEE" and ran up to me for a huge hug. The Sister turned to me and said "But I bet that right there makes it all worth it." And that is absolutely the truth, and it's why I'm there.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
My Daily Grind
I thought I'd give a little rundown about where I'm working for the next 5 months.
My mornings from 8:30-12:30 are spent at the Saint Benedict Education Center, it's a program that includes "intensive case management, academic remediation, job readiness preparation, job development and job placement assistance." More specifically, my actual job everyday includes tutoring 1-on-1 English and math skills with refugees, assisting as needed in the classrooms, as well as running small job retention classes.
My afternoons from about 1:00-5:00 are spent at Sister Gus' Kid's Cafe, which is part of the Emmaus Ministries. The Kids Cafe is an after school program for kids in the inner-city schools, most of whom are coming from very poor and disadvantaged families. We provide the kids with dinner, and a safe space to spend a few hours after school. I'm in charge of managing the kitchen and volunteers that help prepare the meals everyday, as well as providing homework help with the kids, and overall just spending time interacting with the kids and playing.
Both of these jobs are very challenging, but so rewarding. I never thought in a million years I would be teaching and tutoring so extensively. But the participants at SBEC make it so rewarding to work with them. They are so eager to learn, they desperately want any kind of help we can give them. Right now, I'm working with a participant from Somalia everyday, he can speak English and hold up a decent conversation with the English he knows, but absolutely cannot read or write. He knows his letters, but can't make sense of them as sounds and words. I've been working with him for a couple of weeks now, and yesterday he recognized and read 3 words while I was working with him on flashcards trying to identify opposites. I was so excited I nearly danced around the room! On the walk back down the hall to the classroom, I told him how great he had done during our lesson. He told me that he felt like he could learn it now, like I was finally helping him make sense of this thing he has struggled so hard with. It's minor progress, and he has a long way to go before he's reading on his own, but it's a step in the right direction, and it felt awesome for both of us.
The Kid's Cafe was my first choice of ministry placement, and it had been from the time I knew I was doing this program. It's not easy, by any means, to work daily with inner-city, street tough kids. But there is something so rewarding when these kids drop their defenses, and start to trust you, and they just behave like a kid. Most of these kids aren't coming from much, and they don't always have the best life at home. But at the Cafe we give them a place to just be a kid, where they can be away from whatever troubles they face at home, school, or out on the streets. There's one little girl who I've made a really good connection with over the last week, she walks in everyday now looking for me wanting help on her homework before we go play about 1,000 rounds of mancala. She's a bright girl, and adorable as can be, but she has an extremely rough home life. It's heartbreaking to know what she comes from, but at the same time it makes it all the more special to me to spend time with her for a little bit everyday. It's the same with all the kids there, if nothing else, I'm a stable person who they know they're going to see 4 days a week. Some of them may never really get close to any of us that work there everyday, but they know we're there for them, and that's what matters.
Click here for a link to the Sister's webpage about their ministries to see a little more about where I'm working, as well as the other ministries provided by the Sisters.
To end on a completely different note, Gannon University has been hosting some Tibetan Monks this week for a series of presentations. They are also constructing a sand mandala to be dissolved in Lake Erie. Alyssa and I made it out to see the Monks on Monday night with a few of the Sisters. Monday night's presentation was on song, dance and chant, and it was an amazing experience. I was able to take a few videos of the Monks chanting, here's one of them:
My mornings from 8:30-12:30 are spent at the Saint Benedict Education Center, it's a program that includes "intensive case management, academic remediation, job readiness preparation, job development and job placement assistance." More specifically, my actual job everyday includes tutoring 1-on-1 English and math skills with refugees, assisting as needed in the classrooms, as well as running small job retention classes.
My afternoons from about 1:00-5:00 are spent at Sister Gus' Kid's Cafe, which is part of the Emmaus Ministries. The Kids Cafe is an after school program for kids in the inner-city schools, most of whom are coming from very poor and disadvantaged families. We provide the kids with dinner, and a safe space to spend a few hours after school. I'm in charge of managing the kitchen and volunteers that help prepare the meals everyday, as well as providing homework help with the kids, and overall just spending time interacting with the kids and playing.
Both of these jobs are very challenging, but so rewarding. I never thought in a million years I would be teaching and tutoring so extensively. But the participants at SBEC make it so rewarding to work with them. They are so eager to learn, they desperately want any kind of help we can give them. Right now, I'm working with a participant from Somalia everyday, he can speak English and hold up a decent conversation with the English he knows, but absolutely cannot read or write. He knows his letters, but can't make sense of them as sounds and words. I've been working with him for a couple of weeks now, and yesterday he recognized and read 3 words while I was working with him on flashcards trying to identify opposites. I was so excited I nearly danced around the room! On the walk back down the hall to the classroom, I told him how great he had done during our lesson. He told me that he felt like he could learn it now, like I was finally helping him make sense of this thing he has struggled so hard with. It's minor progress, and he has a long way to go before he's reading on his own, but it's a step in the right direction, and it felt awesome for both of us.
The Kid's Cafe was my first choice of ministry placement, and it had been from the time I knew I was doing this program. It's not easy, by any means, to work daily with inner-city, street tough kids. But there is something so rewarding when these kids drop their defenses, and start to trust you, and they just behave like a kid. Most of these kids aren't coming from much, and they don't always have the best life at home. But at the Cafe we give them a place to just be a kid, where they can be away from whatever troubles they face at home, school, or out on the streets. There's one little girl who I've made a really good connection with over the last week, she walks in everyday now looking for me wanting help on her homework before we go play about 1,000 rounds of mancala. She's a bright girl, and adorable as can be, but she has an extremely rough home life. It's heartbreaking to know what she comes from, but at the same time it makes it all the more special to me to spend time with her for a little bit everyday. It's the same with all the kids there, if nothing else, I'm a stable person who they know they're going to see 4 days a week. Some of them may never really get close to any of us that work there everyday, but they know we're there for them, and that's what matters.
Click here for a link to the Sister's webpage about their ministries to see a little more about where I'm working, as well as the other ministries provided by the Sisters.
To end on a completely different note, Gannon University has been hosting some Tibetan Monks this week for a series of presentations. They are also constructing a sand mandala to be dissolved in Lake Erie. Alyssa and I made it out to see the Monks on Monday night with a few of the Sisters. Monday night's presentation was on song, dance and chant, and it was an amazing experience. I was able to take a few videos of the Monks chanting, here's one of them:
Monday, September 19, 2011
Well, It's Official!
Saturday marked my official commitment to the Benedicta Riepp program!! I can't believe the first month has flown by so fast!
My family came out for the weekend, which included my Mom, brother, sister, our grandma, and 4 close family friends, two of whom live here in Erie. It was so great to see everyone and to share this special place with them.
The commitment ceremony was held Saturday night right after prayer at the beginning of dinner. As our families and the Sisters looked on, Alyssa and I expressed our desire to live and work here with the Sisters for the next 11 months, promising to live by the Rule of Benedict. I have to admit I was scared stiff at having to speak in front of such a large crowd, but it was a very moving ceremony, I loved every second of it. We stood in front of the community, as they all raised their hands and prayed over us, blessing us and promising to help us on this journey. It's pretty powerful stuff. This community really knows how to make someone feel welcomed beyond measure.
Lots of fun and games followed after the ceremony and dinner. My family, Alyssa's family, and a handful of Sisters played Catchphrase for awhile. My family and I played a few intense hands of Spoons back at our hermitage. It was loads of fun. It was a great way to round out such a wonderful evening.
It really was such a spectacular weekend. Having my family here was so wonderful, I'm so incredibly happy that I was able to see them for a couple of days, and to share in such a special event with them. I overwhelmingly have felt the love this weekend, from my family, and this community of women.
I know the coming months will be full of ups, and downs. I know some days I'm going to really wonder what I got myself into, yet other days I'm going to look at it all and know I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. I know that no matter what, I've got a lot of people standing beside me as I take on this adventure. God is with me every step of the way, and I'm putting my trust in Him.
I'm very excited to see what these coming months bring. I'll update again soon with some information about the ministries I'll be working in. I'm thinking this is enough for today :)
Here's the link to the Sister's official website, where we have a nice little write up and some great photos from the ceremony.
My family came out for the weekend, which included my Mom, brother, sister, our grandma, and 4 close family friends, two of whom live here in Erie. It was so great to see everyone and to share this special place with them.
The commitment ceremony was held Saturday night right after prayer at the beginning of dinner. As our families and the Sisters looked on, Alyssa and I expressed our desire to live and work here with the Sisters for the next 11 months, promising to live by the Rule of Benedict. I have to admit I was scared stiff at having to speak in front of such a large crowd, but it was a very moving ceremony, I loved every second of it. We stood in front of the community, as they all raised their hands and prayed over us, blessing us and promising to help us on this journey. It's pretty powerful stuff. This community really knows how to make someone feel welcomed beyond measure.
Lots of fun and games followed after the ceremony and dinner. My family, Alyssa's family, and a handful of Sisters played Catchphrase for awhile. My family and I played a few intense hands of Spoons back at our hermitage. It was loads of fun. It was a great way to round out such a wonderful evening.
It really was such a spectacular weekend. Having my family here was so wonderful, I'm so incredibly happy that I was able to see them for a couple of days, and to share in such a special event with them. I overwhelmingly have felt the love this weekend, from my family, and this community of women.
I know the coming months will be full of ups, and downs. I know some days I'm going to really wonder what I got myself into, yet other days I'm going to look at it all and know I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. I know that no matter what, I've got a lot of people standing beside me as I take on this adventure. God is with me every step of the way, and I'm putting my trust in Him.
I'm very excited to see what these coming months bring. I'll update again soon with some information about the ministries I'll be working in. I'm thinking this is enough for today :)
Here's the link to the Sister's official website, where we have a nice little write up and some great photos from the ceremony.
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| Reading my statement of promise as my mentor Sister Ann looks on |
 |
| Receiving a blessing from the community |
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| Me, my Mom, my Grandma and Sister Sallie |
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Decisions, Decisions
I'm in the middle of a crazy busy week, there's so much going on in these last days before our commitment ceremony. Work, meetings, and some major decisions to be made about my ministry placement(s) for the next 5 months or so. Eek! Good thing I have a reflection day tomorrow so I can just relax and reflect and really spend some solid time deciding where I'd like to be.
Speaking of my reflection day, we sent one of the Sisters into a bit of a fit after she read both of our posts about our reflection days and how we don't really know what to do with ourselves some weeks. So she snatched us up after prayer last week and drew us this very elaborate (see below) map of the local public library. She absolutely insists that we get out of the monastery for the whole day, and go set up shop in one of the big comfy chairs by the huge windows that overlook the water. She told us to just go read, relax, reflect, and nap if the mood so strikes us. So I'm thinking that will be my adventure tomorrow.
In other news, I'm discovering more and more how utterly goofy some of these women can be. It seems like every time I get in the car with a couple of Sisters, I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe. Whether we're driving to work at 7:30 in the morning, or driving to or from some event in town, it's always a wildly entertaining and absolutely ridiculous car ride. Anytime we get together and play a game or two in the evening also almost always promises to be an outrageously funny time.
Everyone keeps telling Alyssa and I that they hope we're behaving. In some instances, I'd say they should probably be a little more concerned about some of the Sisters behaving. But I mean, we're not instigators or anything. We'd never do that :)
Speaking of my reflection day, we sent one of the Sisters into a bit of a fit after she read both of our posts about our reflection days and how we don't really know what to do with ourselves some weeks. So she snatched us up after prayer last week and drew us this very elaborate (see below) map of the local public library. She absolutely insists that we get out of the monastery for the whole day, and go set up shop in one of the big comfy chairs by the huge windows that overlook the water. She told us to just go read, relax, reflect, and nap if the mood so strikes us. So I'm thinking that will be my adventure tomorrow.
In other news, I'm discovering more and more how utterly goofy some of these women can be. It seems like every time I get in the car with a couple of Sisters, I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe. Whether we're driving to work at 7:30 in the morning, or driving to or from some event in town, it's always a wildly entertaining and absolutely ridiculous car ride. Anytime we get together and play a game or two in the evening also almost always promises to be an outrageously funny time.
Everyone keeps telling Alyssa and I that they hope we're behaving. In some instances, I'd say they should probably be a little more concerned about some of the Sisters behaving. But I mean, we're not instigators or anything. We'd never do that :)
 |
| Handy map of the local library |
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Rainy Day
Some advice I got today from my mentor:
"Ya know, even Jesus knew the beauty of just going off and sleeping for awhile."
It just made me smile first thing this morning, as I walked from morning prayer to breakfast, debating whether or not I would work a nap into my list of things to do today. Needless to say, I was sold haha!
I had initially intended for a nice bike ride today, but the weather spoiled that. But maybe instead God has different plans for me today, like the nap I took earlier, or some extra time to read my book on the side, outside of my little assignments. I might just go relax and stretch for a bit while listening to some music, and let that be my way of feeding my body today. We'll see what the day brings, the dreary weather could break soon and maybe I can get in a walk.
Part of my assignment today is to listen to a talk on a cassette tape, which is proving to be more challenging than I initially thought. I grew up with cassette tapes and players, they're not foreign technology to me. But the tape player is not cooperating. It's currently winning the battle, and it's not looking so good for me. I'll save round 2 for after lunch!
I've also decided in the last few days that God has a really good sense of humor. Summer literally ended the day before Labor Day. One day it's in the 80's and humid beyond all belief. The next it's chilly and rainy. Zero transition time, just *BOOM* here's fall. But, I have heard that it's expected to get a little warmer, up into the 70's, again before fall really settles in.
This time of year just always leaves me wondering, when the temperature drops like this, will that be it until spring? I wish there was a warning that came with the last summer-like day of the season: "Hey, enjoy this, because that's all you're getting for like 8 months!!"
If only :)
"Ya know, even Jesus knew the beauty of just going off and sleeping for awhile."
It just made me smile first thing this morning, as I walked from morning prayer to breakfast, debating whether or not I would work a nap into my list of things to do today. Needless to say, I was sold haha!
I had initially intended for a nice bike ride today, but the weather spoiled that. But maybe instead God has different plans for me today, like the nap I took earlier, or some extra time to read my book on the side, outside of my little assignments. I might just go relax and stretch for a bit while listening to some music, and let that be my way of feeding my body today. We'll see what the day brings, the dreary weather could break soon and maybe I can get in a walk.
Part of my assignment today is to listen to a talk on a cassette tape, which is proving to be more challenging than I initially thought. I grew up with cassette tapes and players, they're not foreign technology to me. But the tape player is not cooperating. It's currently winning the battle, and it's not looking so good for me. I'll save round 2 for after lunch!
I've also decided in the last few days that God has a really good sense of humor. Summer literally ended the day before Labor Day. One day it's in the 80's and humid beyond all belief. The next it's chilly and rainy. Zero transition time, just *BOOM* here's fall. But, I have heard that it's expected to get a little warmer, up into the 70's, again before fall really settles in.
This time of year just always leaves me wondering, when the temperature drops like this, will that be it until spring? I wish there was a warning that came with the last summer-like day of the season: "Hey, enjoy this, because that's all you're getting for like 8 months!!"
If only :)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Reflection Days
So every Wednesday I get a reflection day. On this day, I don't have to go to work. I'm still required to get up for prayer in the morning, but then I have all day to relax, reflect, and just be. It's really nice, but man is it hard to fill a whole day with relaxation.
Sounds crazy, but try it sometime.
Spending a full day from about 7am until 6pm in quiet reflection isn't easy at first. It's honestly hard not to curl up in bed after breakfast and sleep until a more (at least for me!) acceptable time. But! I am being broken of my night owl tendencies pretty quickly. It's about 9:40 right now, and I could have gone to bed at 8:30 and really not thought twice about it.
But here I am, blogging to my faithful readers :)
I gotta say, it's a little weird to adjust to at first, but spending a day reflecting is such a great thing. It's really rejuvenating, in a way that simple sleep alone can't compare to. As we've been told, these days are meant to restore our minds, our bodies and our spirits. Sleeping might restore my body, but my mind and spirit would miss out on a lot of good things.
Every week I'm given a Psalm to read and pray on. I pick out something, a phrase or even a single word that grabs me. "What is God saying to me today?" and it's a really nice way to not just read Scripture, but to wholly ingest it. I make it my own by reflecting on what exactly it says to me. It's really pretty cool.
Beyond that, we've been assigned some books to read on defining the self, and becoming who you are meant to be. I've always found it hard to do that, especially when I'm so young and have a lot of experiences ahead of me.
But then, in my reading yesterday I stumbled across this: "God desires for us to be the person we were created to be: to be simply and purely ourselves and in this state to love God and let ourselves be loved by God."
And that's who I'm trying to find, through all this work, prayer, reflection. But putting it that way, and thinking on it as I have for the last couple of weeks, I don't have to dig that far. It's not about redefining who I think I am, or who I think I'm supposed to be. It's just realizing that I'm exactly who God intends me to be.
Nothing sounds more beautiful than that.
Sounds crazy, but try it sometime.
Spending a full day from about 7am until 6pm in quiet reflection isn't easy at first. It's honestly hard not to curl up in bed after breakfast and sleep until a more (at least for me!) acceptable time. But! I am being broken of my night owl tendencies pretty quickly. It's about 9:40 right now, and I could have gone to bed at 8:30 and really not thought twice about it.
But here I am, blogging to my faithful readers :)
I gotta say, it's a little weird to adjust to at first, but spending a day reflecting is such a great thing. It's really rejuvenating, in a way that simple sleep alone can't compare to. As we've been told, these days are meant to restore our minds, our bodies and our spirits. Sleeping might restore my body, but my mind and spirit would miss out on a lot of good things.
Every week I'm given a Psalm to read and pray on. I pick out something, a phrase or even a single word that grabs me. "What is God saying to me today?" and it's a really nice way to not just read Scripture, but to wholly ingest it. I make it my own by reflecting on what exactly it says to me. It's really pretty cool.
Beyond that, we've been assigned some books to read on defining the self, and becoming who you are meant to be. I've always found it hard to do that, especially when I'm so young and have a lot of experiences ahead of me.
But then, in my reading yesterday I stumbled across this: "God desires for us to be the person we were created to be: to be simply and purely ourselves and in this state to love God and let ourselves be loved by God."
And that's who I'm trying to find, through all this work, prayer, reflection. But putting it that way, and thinking on it as I have for the last couple of weeks, I don't have to dig that far. It's not about redefining who I think I am, or who I think I'm supposed to be. It's just realizing that I'm exactly who God intends me to be.
Nothing sounds more beautiful than that.
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