Thursday, January 22, 2009
project serve
Ignite participated in its annual Project Serve fundraiser on Monday. Project Serve is kind of a big deal. Basically, all 70 staff members meet in a parking lot on campus early in the morning on MLK day and go out from there to volunteer at various organizations around the city. In the afternoon, we all regroup and head out to the site where our August retreat will be held and do some clean-up around the site for a few hours after lunch. The fundraising part comes in when each staff member tells their respective network about our volunteer efforts in case they feel led to donate money to Ignite and its mission. As the Fundraising Exec for Ignite, my joy and my challenge was to plan, organize and coordinate all logistics for this service day during Christmas break.
Going into Project Serve, I felt like no matter how well I prepared, things were going to go wrong. After all, what else should I have expected from trying coordinate 70 people? But man, was I wrong. Aside from a few very minor things, everything went off without a hitch! Nearly everyone showed up on time, no one got lost (that I heard about), I got some heart-warming feedback from the staff about their morning activities at the different volunteer sites, and the organizations we went to were very pleased with our service.
It is hard to describe the immense feeling of satisfaction I get from seeing God's hand of blessing on my efforts to plan, organize, and coordinate these Ignite fundraisers. I can't help but feel really proud of what was accomplished through my God-given commitment and dedication to serve Ignite and the freshmen we will receive in the fall. I can definitely call this project a success and I know that God will bless the humility and efforts of the staff with financial provision as well.
Going into Project Serve, I felt like no matter how well I prepared, things were going to go wrong. After all, what else should I have expected from trying coordinate 70 people? But man, was I wrong. Aside from a few very minor things, everything went off without a hitch! Nearly everyone showed up on time, no one got lost (that I heard about), I got some heart-warming feedback from the staff about their morning activities at the different volunteer sites, and the organizations we went to were very pleased with our service.
It is hard to describe the immense feeling of satisfaction I get from seeing God's hand of blessing on my efforts to plan, organize, and coordinate these Ignite fundraisers. I can't help but feel really proud of what was accomplished through my God-given commitment and dedication to serve Ignite and the freshmen we will receive in the fall. I can definitely call this project a success and I know that God will bless the humility and efforts of the staff with financial provision as well.
Monday, January 12, 2009
road trip
A few days ago I took a mini road trip to Fredericksburg, Texas with some of my best girl friends from high school. Our plan was to arrive at Enchanted Rock around lunchtime and spend the afternoon hiking to the top to watch the sunset. However, our plans changed the morning of our trip when we realized Enchanted Rock was closed for hunting. So, we made the best of it by hiking at a park a little closer to home and heading to Fredericksburg early. After checking in to our hotel, we went to a living history museum a few miles away. The museum was basically a living and active representation of a 1900 Texas farm. The whole time we were there, I felt like I was in the middle of a Laura Ingalls Wilder book. Several horses and cows were hanging out in fenced off areas off of the stable and dozens of chickens were strutting around a hen house. We walked back around to the front of the main house where two older men in long sleeve shirts and overalls were sitting on the front porch. To my complete surprise, they informed us that they had just slaughtered a hog that day and offered to show us the results of their handiwork. Just inside the front door were tubs upon tubs of chopped up, raw meat. In another room was a huge table of two different kinds of sausages as well as a block of head cheese. My friends and I stood in the doorway gaping while one of the men cheerfully described each type of meat and where it was located in the pig. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen! It was also neat to get a tour of the other parts of the house which was set up to represent what it probably looked like when an early 20th century family actually lived there. Before we left the museum, we learned that for three months of the year, the farm is managed by a couple from Minnesota who actually grew up on a farm and love the lifestyle.
After we left the museum, we resolved to find an elevated place to watch the sunset. We got a recommendation from the people at the farm to drive a few miles down the road to an outdoor sculpture museum which winded around the side of a hill and eventually reached a lofty peak. We managed to locate the start of the sculpture museum at the base of the hill and after getting permission from the homeowners who lived at the top (another funny story), we sped toward the peak. As we watched the sun dip below the horizon and the beautiful multi-shaded orange clouds spread across the sky, several of us realized that we’d never actually taken the time to watch the sun set… it was absolutely breathtaking.
The rest of the night consisted of a German dinner back in Fredericksburg, a dip in the hot tub where we all had the nerve to jump into the freezing swimming pool water before racing back to the warmth of the hot tub, and 2+ hours of board games (SO much fun!) from which dozens of new inside jokes emerged. The next day we spent several hours window shopping in Fredericksburg and popping in and out of each store along Main Street.
It was definitely a quick trip but I really cherished the time I got to spend with those girls. I just have to smile when I reflect on the bond that God has created between us over the last year. While we were at home together last summer, these girls and I committed to meeting together every week to live in community, share our burdens, and pray for each other. God blessed our commitment by establishing a deep foundation of love and trust within our small community group. As much as these girls were my best friends in high school, I feel closer to them now, more than ever before (even despite the distance between us during the semester and our challenge to maintain consistent communication). Therefore, I praise God for every opportunity to see them in person, laugh with them, and share stories and struggles about life and faith. Thank you, girls, for an amazing and fun filled trip.
After we left the museum, we resolved to find an elevated place to watch the sunset. We got a recommendation from the people at the farm to drive a few miles down the road to an outdoor sculpture museum which winded around the side of a hill and eventually reached a lofty peak. We managed to locate the start of the sculpture museum at the base of the hill and after getting permission from the homeowners who lived at the top (another funny story), we sped toward the peak. As we watched the sun dip below the horizon and the beautiful multi-shaded orange clouds spread across the sky, several of us realized that we’d never actually taken the time to watch the sun set… it was absolutely breathtaking.
The rest of the night consisted of a German dinner back in Fredericksburg, a dip in the hot tub where we all had the nerve to jump into the freezing swimming pool water before racing back to the warmth of the hot tub, and 2+ hours of board games (SO much fun!) from which dozens of new inside jokes emerged. The next day we spent several hours window shopping in Fredericksburg and popping in and out of each store along Main Street.
It was definitely a quick trip but I really cherished the time I got to spend with those girls. I just have to smile when I reflect on the bond that God has created between us over the last year. While we were at home together last summer, these girls and I committed to meeting together every week to live in community, share our burdens, and pray for each other. God blessed our commitment by establishing a deep foundation of love and trust within our small community group. As much as these girls were my best friends in high school, I feel closer to them now, more than ever before (even despite the distance between us during the semester and our challenge to maintain consistent communication). Therefore, I praise God for every opportunity to see them in person, laugh with them, and share stories and struggles about life and faith. Thank you, girls, for an amazing and fun filled trip.
Labels: life
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
happy new years!
I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year but if I did, “blogging more” would be one of them. I discovered that I usually don’t feel inclined to blog unless I have a profound or interesting reflection to write about. So needless to say, when things get really busy and my time for reflection diminishes, I have little desire or motivation to blog. This is all kind of silly then, especially when I say I want my blog to be an accurate reflection of my honest thoughts about life and faith. The last thing I want is for you to walk away from your computer with the false idea that I’m super-spiritual, have everything together, or that my life is perfect.
So now, in light of my resolution, I would like to raise my virtual champagne glass (which is actually just a water glass until March 4th) and propose a toast to quirky randomness, daily happenings, questions that have no straightforward answers, 3 line blog posts, acquired wisdom, honest struggles, and new experiences.
Wishing you all much growth and joy in 2009!
So now, in light of my resolution, I would like to raise my virtual champagne glass (which is actually just a water glass until March 4th) and propose a toast to quirky randomness, daily happenings, questions that have no straightforward answers, 3 line blog posts, acquired wisdom, honest struggles, and new experiences.
Wishing you all much growth and joy in 2009!
Labels: life
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