Yeah, I say water weird. So what?

Another challenging week. Should I be surprised at this point? On Thursday we had nine kids at Andy's Club. A record! I quickly remembered though how challenging kids can be. There was so much showing off it was out of control, but by the end of the day it was like we had all known each other forever. One child, we'll call him J, may prove to be a special challenge for me from God. On our registration form we have a spot for parents to let me know if anything out of the ordinary has happened recently in the life of the child such as divorce, moving, death in family, etc. I knew J lived with his Grandma, but that's not especially strange in MS post-Katrina. When I got a chance to read his paper though, I learned the whole story. Three years ago, when J was probably 8 or so, his father murdered his mother then committed suicide- all in front of J. As a result, he moved to MS with his Grandma. Then they lost their house in the hurricane. Furthermore, although J's Grandma didn't specifically note this, I'm assuming there was physical or substance abuse present in the home before the deaths. Those things don't come out of nowhere. I feel completely useless to this child. It seems like he needs more than glitter glue and improv games, which he may be receiving, I don't know. And yet, God has put him in front of me. Hmm...

In much more selfish news, the internet has been down here all week. Every time they move around the office, something is sacrificed. One time it was the voice mail, one time the printer connection, this time the internet. We've been going to wifi cafes and thinking of turning in our receipts to have the Presbytery of Mississippi pay for our Chai Tea...A large with whip cream...and a croissant. I am a slave to the internet. Not being a big phone person, I'm falling completely behind with e-mailing. The only way I'm typing this now is because I actually broke into the office here to do some work. That's right broke in because we haven't gotten keys yet which is due to trust or disorganization, I don't really know.

I wanted to mention too that I was really excited that Sue asked me to be her accountability partner (I hope she's reading!). We were asked to pick A.P.s this week at the big meeting in New Orleans, the purpose being a weekly or more check in with one person that you don't live with about community, work, spirituality, etc. Because I had to leave the meeting early, I was really afraid that I would be like the last kid picked for kickball, but Sue called and asked and I was really happy. For those of you who don't know Sue, she is fabulous and bitter and a feminist and tells it like it is. Just like me! We've also had some similar life experiences that I think will make us good partners.

Last night was one of those blessings that comes out of the blue. My former pastor, Harold, had contacted me last weekend because he was coming for a volunteer work week in Bay St. Louis, MS- about 40 minutes from here. He came with the Morristown church who are wonderful people as I learned. I had dinner with them last night, did a lot of networking, had some good theological talk, and worshipped with them. This was the best. I've forgotten the high you experience here as a weekly volunteer. There is so much intensity packed into one week. It was just so wonderful to see a familiar face, especially one that I've known my whole life, and talk about home things. While I'm not feeling homesick, I certainly miss home and I think I am drawing comfort from the knowledge that I'll be back and hopefully settled there next year. I think I will always want to travel, perhaps for even months at a time, but I don't want to live anywhere else...
... which is one of the reasons I really hope that the divine plan is for me to go to Princeton. If you don't know, I'm currently in that awful waiting for a decision period. It should be coming sometime soon, like within a few weeks. Luckily, I have tons to keep my mind occupied with and I realized something in talking with the assoc. pastor from Morristown last night. Unlike undergrad where if you didn't get in you felt dumb or not well spoken or not well rounded, I honestly feel that wherever I get in is where I belong. I have complete faith in the process. I just pray its not traumatic, and I really don't want to fill out any more applications.

I'm not sure who all's reading this at this point, but if there is anyone interested in making a sizeable donation, we could use a computer for the after-school program. Nothing fancy, just something to run reading software off of and for the kids to learn basic skills. Let me know if you have a lead!