Okay So Here It Is

Now that I have access to a real computer and am no longer in need of typing this on my phone I'll give you the whole skinny on this week. Like I said before, the group I'm currently working with arrived on Sunday. Now in order for me to explain what was last said regarding Satan, I'll start here: the group arrived 30 minutes early. Now, not that it and of itself is not Satan at work, but stick with me. The group pulled into the parking lot of the housing site before we did, which meant we didn't have time to get settled into our new location (I'm staying at Harbor House for the week, so I basically had to move out of my other site so I would have all I needed for this week). This kind of started things off on a stressful note. Then on top of that there was an issue with keys and getting into the building. Then one of my supervisors accidentally drove off with my keys. Then on the second night some random people were seen wandering around the building and apparently let themselves in downstairs (all this was caught by the leader of the group, at 11:30 at night)... none of these things alone are huge things, or even anything too bad, but it was a culmination of things combined with the frustrating week that I had just come off of; plus that's no way to start with a new group... but what it did remind me is that Satan is alive and well, and he doesn't always use huge things like drugs, sex and alcohol to cause us to stumble. Sometimes he uses a culmination of little things to push us to a point of allowing ourselves to lose control. Anyway:

My week has been amazing. And despite the fact that Satan is trying to announce his presence once again my God is bigger and in so much more control. He has helped me maintain my sanity, and helped me to tell Satan to shove off and that he's not wanted here. As I also stated before, this is a college group, which to be honest kind of scared me. I mean, yeah, I graduated from college almost 4 years ago (really, it's been that long, are you kidding me), but it really isn't that long, and I've never really worked with college students so I didn't know what I was to expect. But they're awesome. They are all here by choice, and each of them has a heart to serve... and they do. They kind of make a game out of it. When I ask someone to do something like clean up, or take out the trash, 3 or 4 people will volunteer, and then the others seem disappointed when I choose someone else. They've even said things like, "gee thanks, you just took away my opportunity to serve", and although it's said in a jovial manner, they never hesitate to serve. They never complain, they always build each other up... it's awesome. They're an inspiration to me.

Okay, so about our week... on Monday, we went to the San Fran Food Bank, and took 20lb bags of pasta, and made them into 1lb bags. I always love working at the food bank, because the work keeps us busy enough that time just flies, but at the same time, it is easy enough that we are able to talk and get to know each other. I bounced around from table to table, and job to job and it gave me the opportunity to talk with several of the members of my group. In the afternoon, the group had a City Search, which was awesome because it allowed me the opportunity to kind of have the afternoon off. The way City Search works is that the group splits into two smaller groups, and they each play a role (one group was a group of teen runaways, and the other group was an immigrant family) they then go out into an area of the Tenderloin, and talk to people, asking them some questions that have been provided for them. They are each given $2.00 for lunch, and they are encouraged to not only feed themselves lunch, but share with someone they meet. Half of the group pooled their money and bought fixings for sandwiches, and they opted to give all the food away, and not eat lunch at all. The other half of the group also bought stuff for sandwiches, but found other creative ways to use their money- like buying socks for a guy who needed them. The best part of this day for me, was hearing about their experiences. They talked about it with such joy and enthusiasm that I was kind of jealous I didn't get to be a part of it. But God knew that I could use a break, and laying on the grass at Golden Gate Park was awesome in its own way too.

Tuesday we went to Medshare, and this was the really mundane work I was telling you about. We literally took boxes of 50 gloves, opened the boxes, then took the gloves out of their plastic wrapping. It had to do with the fact that these gloves had expiration dates, but the truth is, they don't really expire, they just have to have a date because of US law. So anyway, we took them out of the wrappers and boxed them back up into 200s and they would be shipped off to developing countries who need gloves for exams and basic needs. It's really cool to see how Medshare is meeting a need that most people don't even realize exists. Then in the afternoon we went to the Bay Area Rescue Mission and played with kids- this place is always such a joy. To know that we are making a difference in the lives of children all by having fun and playing with them is awesome, and helps to prove that ministry doesn't have to be boring- it is what you make it.

To keep this from being any longer than it already is, I'm going to hold off on telling you about Wednesday and combine it with Thursday's activities. Thank you so much for all of your prayer and support. I love you all very much!