You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2007.
Hopefully all the fires are settling down around here. Its been in the 90’s and smokey this whole week. In my opinion it makes the sky and the city look ugly. Can LA really handle anymore pollution? All week at work the kids weren’t allowed to play outside. I even opted out of running a couple times cuz the air is kinda gross. I can’t imagine what it is like closer to the fires. Today it actually rained like 1,000 drops for 2 mins and people were happy about that. I just kinda laughed about it.
I’m enjoying going to work. The kids are fun because even though they can be hard sometimes and throw big tantrums they do the cutest/strangest things that remind me they are just kids. This week i got to sit in on their “group” they have with their social workers. One of the guys who has been working in the cottage is leaving to work at another cottage so they anounced it at group and gave the kids a chance to express their feelings. It was really sweet and sad cuz two boys started crying when they heard the news. Others talked about what they would miss. It made me realize what a big deal it is for them to have someone stable and loving in their life as well as how hard it is for them to feel like they are losing someone in their life too.
I went to the projects today. My friend Mari is volunteering for 1 year at the dream center in LA and on saturday they send out buses of people from the church into various projects to invite people to church, pray with people, drop off food etc. We met some cool people, families and kids. I have never been in an area like that before as I’m sure most of us haven’t. It was during the day and quite a few people know or go to church at the Dream Center. There is a bus that comes from the dream center that picks people up and takes them to church. Its cool to be able to go there to meet people and build relationships. I really can’t wrap my mind around what it would be like living there or growing up there. And obviously at night its a totally different world as well. It would be crazy, but yet today we got to laugh with people, pray with people and play with some kids. I enjoyed it.
my intensive class. At times there was so much information coming at you I couldn’t take it all in, but overall a good class. We “ended” class night by attending a play called Butterflies of Uganda: memoirs of a child soldier. It was the story of a family whose two children were forced to fight for the Lords Resistance Army as child soldiers. The young girl is grown up and is telling her daughter the truth about the past. It was intense, powerful and disturbing. If only it was just a play…
http://www.un.org/events/tenstories_2006/story.asp?storyID=100
I have this great friend here named Antonia. She is from canada and is in both my classes. I love her because on Friday we took an adventure into hollywood to watch an international film called Outsourced. It was about a guy who worked for a company in Seattle of all places, and his boss tells him they are outsourcing to India and he must go train the indians to due his job. It was a cute romantic comedy that took place in India and it was fun to be able to appreciate the indian culture in the film. Antonia has also been to calcutta so it was fun to have a friend along that was excited as me to go see the movie.
Tomorrow starts my two crazy weeks of school. My intensive starts tomorrow and to top it off I’m working 7-2pm the next two weeks. Luckily i finished my papers and don’t feel stressed about them. I did need a mental break last night from the one i wrote about children and sex trafficking in India. Not an easy subject to read about, so i watched Toy Story 2 and the Incredibles. I was in the mood to watch Finding Nemo, but no one owned it. Maybe next time. The other thing that helps is I’m actually looking forward to the course material so although it will be a busy two weeks i’m looking forward to it.
A “God thought” i have been having lately is about jars of clay, 2 Cor 4:7-12. Maybe i can do a better job of not being one, but seeing them around me as people who on the outside, to this world, might not seem like they have got it all together, but through their trials and perseverance give glory to God and carry his image. Can we think of any sightings or experiences we had with these “jars of clay?”
