Chaos

I know I haven't written for a long time but I want you to know that I have sat down several times to catch you up on what is going on with me but the words just haven't been flowing. So here I am sitting down to give it another go and try to catch you up on the last month of my life.

I had the amazing opportunity to go out to Estes Park, Colorado for National Young Adult Conference a few weeks ago and it was such an awesome week. To go from six weeks of being in charge of others to a week of being able to relax and sit and simply be was exactly what I needed. To be in the mountains, be around 130 other Church of the Brethren Young Adults, to worship and talk and listen with others was perfect. It wasn't always easy though, through worship and conversations many questions were brought up and I spent a fair amount of time sitting on a massive wooden porch, lounging either by myself or with others all the while gazing at the Rocky Mountains. It was a great time and while I was sad to see it come to an end I was ready to get back here to Elgin and be in one place for longer than a week at a time.

So now I've been back here in Elgin for about two weeks and in that time I have finished up my work in the Youth and Young Adult Office with the workcamp program and have packed my boxes and made my move to the Brethren Volunteer Service Office. I am now officially part of the BVS team in the role of recruiter. In my first week I have started making contacts for my fall travels (and boy what a schedule it looks like it will be!) and have gone to a mid year retreat for one of the orientation units.

So after a couple weeks of transition both in the office and here at the house (I've moved to a new room) and housemates coming and going things are starting to settle down a little bit. Well, to a degree. I guess you could say that things here never really settle down! Someone is almost always gone on a trip or someone is visiting or we're invited to go somewhere. It is a chaotic life that we live here in Elgin! No worries though, I wouldn't trade it for anything!

They breed em big down here...

Well, here I am in North Fort Myers Florida and everything down here is huge! From dogs to spiders to mosquitoes...they are all enormous! It's crazy! I finished up in Baltimore on Sunday and immediately got on a plane that brought me down here to Florida. It was a rather tearful departure on my part. I have decided that I really don't like Sunday's at the moment because the past two Sunday's I've had to say goodbye to some really amazingly awesome youth, both junior and senior highs. Jerry and I have talked about the fact that it's just not fair because we get to know these youth in the span of a week and grow to love one another and then it's time to move on. Yes I do understand that typically in the CoB a goodbye is never really a goodbye but an 'I'll see you soon!' moment, but it doesn't make it any easier.

So now here I am in Florida...in August. I mean really, who's idea was this anyways? When I came down to visit last January THAT'S when the workcamp should have been, we're about six months off from the perfect time to be down here! I've already been bitten by mosquitoes about a hundred million times and it's only Tuesday! Sheesh!

Other than the bugs things are going really well. It's a small group, but I'm actually excited about that and I think they all like it too. ECHO is a simply amazing place and I hope that the group will realize all that this organization has to offer and how they are now part of the bigger picture and that they are connected.

I'll write more soon, but for now I must be off. It's time to work again!

Peace and blessings to you!

Oh, and happy August! It's pretty much one of the best months ever, but of course I'm not biased! : )