Almost Home

Dear family and friends,

(picture is of Me and Eliana, one of the awesome sunday school girls...she's 7....maybe 8.)

Here i am! Nine weeks in, and one week away from home! Though this summer has been amazing,and something I am sure never to forget...I am ready to come home. I miss my friends. my family, and mostly my boyfriend. hhahahha. This time next week, I'll be in his arms and happy as a clam. Nay, happier than a clam...

So this weekend was fantastic! Josiah and Christine took me to Philly on Saturday, and oh man that was SO much fun. It felt like we walked all over the city by the end of the day. We saw Independence Hall, the line for the liberty bell, and at Steaks! PhillyCheeseSteaks. It was pretty awesome. We found a map of a walking tour around the city where there are still many of the original houses and stuff. The needle in a haystack ended up being Betsy Ross's House. We accidentally walked right past it...all the way around our elbow... and when I finally saw the sign Josiah was like, "You're kidding me!!!" It was awesome. I laughed alot... I don't think my friends thought it was as funny. teehee. While we were standing outside the allusive house, there was a tour guide talking about Betsy. He said that she was buried in the courtyard of the house.....maybe..... lol. He said that when they wanted to move Betsy Ross's body they discovered that Quakers don't mark graves. Betsy was a Quaker. lol. So they took an educated guess...bottom line - who ever is buried in that courtyard is Betsy Ross. :0) awesome story.

For lunch it was Philly Steaks for us! There are two steak stands near South st. called King Pat's Steaks and Geno's. Pats is for the locals, and has very specific way of ordering...and Genos is more lenient and meant for tourists. You can tell just from the decor. lol. I had a half from each place...and decided that Pat's was better. If you don't order right at Pat's they may send you to the back of the line, or across the street to Geno's. BAHAHAHA. Lucky for me, I was a quick study. :0D

Sunday was my last youth group. Next week Josiah is doing a wedding, so they aren't going to be back in time. Josiah asked me to try storying for my last night.....so I did. I think it may have gone over okay. lol. As well as Squirmy urban kids could take it. :0) There were a lot of new girls...who didn't like me at all. I've found that I do much better with the guys than the girls. I have no idea why! The guys in the youth group were WAY easier to befriend and play games with. Most of the girls looked me up and down, sneered, and gave me attitude. No bueno.

Well anyway, here I am through with youth group. I'm gonna miss some of those kids. They were really cool...as much as they drove me crazy....I kinda love 'em.

I'm back at the Kelly house after a four day "escape" to the Reardons. They were really fun people to live with, but I missed my basement. lol. It's good to be back. :0)

SO this week, is full of people wanting to take me out to eat before I leave. What's cracked me up is that while these people only eat out once a week....i've been eating out three or four times a week ALL summer.... hahahha. I'm also spending time finishing up all the final details before I leave. I've almost got everything marked off my list!! Whoohoooo!

For those of you who are facebookers, I've got some pictures from Philly up and VBS and such things. Also, I've had to write a letter for the Growing Edge which is the Newsletter for the church, so I'm going to make a blog of that and post it here as well. If you so wish to read it, you may. :0)

I'll probably blog one more time before I get home. So keep those eyes pealed!

Love you all and see you soon!
Love

~ME

I SURVIVED.

Fellow people,

I HAVE SURVIVED what was possibly the craziest week of my existence! ok...ok...maybe not my existence... but definitely the month... I would describe this week as an inverted wave in terms of hecticness. Monday was CAH-RAZY. I went in early (i'm supposed to have half day off on mondays) at around 10 and worked as well as had a meeting all the way up until 6:00 when Josiah and I tramped into the neighborhood to pick up some kids who wouldn't come otherwise. I met some of THEE most awesome kids. Nygeria (Ny-Ny is the nickname) was the sweetest child I've ever met, so cute, lovable, and she held my heart in her hands. lol. Jalen (Jay-len) who has been an incredible hand-full in youth group, came to VBS and behaved like a little adult....which completely floored me. lol. He answered questions, stayed quiet, and looked out for the other kids. I actually really liked the kid by the end of the week...when I asked him why he doesn't behave this way at group, he smiled this goofy smile and walked away. hahahhhaha. oh dear. There was also, Eternity, D'ajah (dee-ah-sha), and Shayla who were all girls and all completely wonderful. It turns out that we had around 61 kids come over the whole week, and they were a pretty good group.

Tuesday- Thursday were pretty slow daytimes for me. I had to re-write some stuff for the skits (meaning I had to write a character out of the story we were telling cause the actor had to go to a wedding..lol....) and I did Devos and tried my best to take it easy...but by Wednesday night Josiah said to me, "I better not see you here until at least 1:00pm tomorrow." I laughed. and he said, "Seriously." So I didn't go in Thurs. until 12:30pm....I'm a rebel. lol. It was GREAT fun.

Friday was crazy. We had food Distribution in the morning at which one lady standing in line almost fainted. Her name was Nadine, and it turns out she hadn't eaten yet that day and needed water. I laughed to myself, cause she reminded me of myself a few years back even though she is at least 3 times my age. I got her water, Aleve for the head ache, and she refused food so I let her son deal with that. It was crazy talking to her....she clearly loved both of her children but she had cut ties with her daughter because she was in an abusive relationship that has physically deformed her and gotten her four kids placed in Children and Youth. Overall, the stories of the people in this town, NEVER cease to amaze me.

Friday night was the Sleepover with Kim, myself, and 5 hyperactive 3rd-5th graders. Oh my golly goodness...lemme break it down for you...

6:30-8:30- VBS

8:30-9:00 I had to walk the kids home. Josiah wasn't there and Kevin was MIA so I had to walk them home on my own. It pumped my adrenaline a little bit, but I survived. The kids were sad to see me go, and I was sad to see them go. I'm going to miss them.

9:00-11:00 Jen = alone with the hyper active kids. LOL. Kim has some stuff she needed to do, so I was left to entertain them on my own. Katie brushed my hair, while Eliana told me stories about her nephews, Giovanni and Devin played on DSes, and Sierra was doing gymnastics in front of me complaining about one of the boys at her VBS table. They also played four square. 2 hours of that. I was pooped.

11:00-12:00 Kim came back and we blew up air matresses...rather IIIIII blew up air mattresses while Kim entertained the kids for a spell. We got all set up for bed and popped in a movie. Veggie Tales!!! Sadly...it was only a half hour.

12:00- 2:00am Finding Nemo played while the kids ran around the fellowship hall, Kim and Katie made Deviled Eggs, Sierra and I actually watched the movie.

2:00am - 4:00am We watched the WaterHorse. *sigh* FINALLY the kids fell asleep, so I did as well...probably around 3 or so.

5:00am - I wake up to Kim snoring and our airmatress deflating.

5:00-6:00am I walk around the fellowship hall, go to the bathroom, grab my pillow and blanket and go sleep in the kitchen to escape the snoring. WAke up in the kitchen and go back to the now completely deflated airmatress.

6:00am, Kim goes down to the classroom and pulls up two tiny couches that roll out into beds of a sort....i curl up on one of those and was OUT.

9:00am... The kids awake.

9:30am everyone's up and about...talking and playing. We put in the Waterhorse again so they could see the parts they missed for sleep.

9:30-11:45 watched movie, ate breakfast, played games.

11:45-12:45 we cleaned up, packed up, and got ready for the pool party.

1:00- 5:00pm POOL PARTY.

5:00-7:00 Kim and I cleaned up the fellowship hall and did other such things.

7:30 = HOME. and also - EXHAUSTED.

So THAT was my Friday into Saturday. So when I say, I Survived..... literally....I survived. lol. When I got home Saturday evening, I had a beautifully decorated package from my boyfriend who had sent me a CD with a couple songs he'd written for me, a DVD with good wishes from a lot of my friends back home that made me laugh and cry...it was great, and two little boxes I wasn't to open until Sunday morning. Perfect ending to an exhausting day.

Sunday was nice...had to get up super early. But I got to open my boxes!! Inside the boxes was a little ceramic baseball glove that reads "You're my best catch!" and inside the other was a beautiful little necklace of a dancing person. The note that came with it read "Dance like no one is watching." I absolutely loved it, and have decided to wear it everyday til I get home. lol. Matt and I have been together for 10 months now!!! Crazy huh? I love that man.

So looking forward into the next two weeks I see a lot of busy-ness. I'm basically rolling right from VBS into all my other regular activities. I have to move houses this weekend, so I'm not sure I'll get a chance to Blog this weekend, but I'll do my best to get at least one or two more out before I get home. Mostly in reflection of the summer and what's coming next, and what I've learned. Believe me, I've been keeping a list.

Until then my dear friends and family, I am off! I have to go to a ribbon cutting ceremony of sorts in a few mintues. I hope you are having a beautiful day, and I'll see you all very soon.

Love,

~ME

"See ya Tomorrow"

Hey friends and family!

This is the beginning of an 8 day stretch that I am to be going NON stop. haha, so I thought i'd sneak in a blog to tie you over in case I don't get a chance to blog until next week!!

This weekend has been really awesome so far.

Last night I drove down to Palmyra (that's right, I've got NEW WHEELS. pictured at right...lol.) and went to see Harry Potter with Bethany. It was SO fun. lol. It took my an hour to get there!! There was traffic because of a concert going on Hershey Park, I literally traveled 20 miles an hour almost the whole way there. lol. It was great, and raining, but I was having a good time anyway. :0) Even though it took me HOUR to get there, I was there half hour early and so Beth and I went to get dinner at this completely rockin' place called "Sheetz" it's a gas station, but also a pretty good distributor of glorious food. I got Three-Cheese Macaroni, as did Beth, and an OJ which we ate and drank in her car. It was 6:30 (our movie was supposed to start at 8) by the time we finished, and on a whim decided to go the theatre and get our tickets early..to beat the rush ya know? First friday in theatres and all....

We get there.....hardly anyone there....and there was a showing at 6:45. It was 6:37. SCORE. We got to go to the film EARLY and it wasn't even that packed. It was beautiful.

The movie itself, was the BOMB. Bethany and i were equally as impressed. I enjoy going to movies with Beth cause we are both jumpy and giggly. At one point I looked over at her, and both her and I are sitting there with our knees up to our chests, hands over mouth, and eyes wide. (it was a scary part.) Oh man, I giggled. We also would jump at the same time at a startling part and then laugh at ourselves....realize we were the only ones laughing...stop...and then silently giggle. It was really fun. We went home after the movie and watched the first Harry Potter movie cause she had it at the Baker's house. It was really cool to watch the beginning of such a great saga.

I drove home this morning after a fantastic breakfast of blueberry pancakes and an education on Sinkholes.

This afternoon was Doris Frysinger's memorial at our church. I had the honor of meeting this fantastic person but once before her passing. She was an enchanting lady as was demonstrated by her full and love-filled life. She praised Jesus even until the end. It was a very moving service. What got me the most was a devotional that Roy (her husband) shared with her a few days before she went home.

"It seems that 'good-bye' is a word all too prevalent in the Christian's vocabulary. Missionaries know it well. Those who sen them know it, too. The Doctor who leaves the city to work in the jungle hospital said it. Those who feed the hungry, those who teach the lost, all know the word 'good-bye'.

Airports. Luggage. Embraces. Taillights. "Wave to Grandma." Tears. Bus Terminals. Ship Docks. "Good-bye, Daddy." Tight throats. Ticket counters. Misty eyes. "Write me!"

Question: What kind of God would give you families and then ask you to leave them? What kind of God would give you friends and then ask you to say good bye?

Answer: A God who knows that we are only pilgrims and that eternity is so close that any "Good Bye" is in reality a "See you Tomorrow."

*sigh*

It was beautiful and SO true. I was reminded of all the times I've had to say good bye for good, and hated it. Wondering if these people I'm leaving will remember me in a few years, If i'll remember them, if we'll write, if i'll ever see them again. I was reminded of all the people I've known who have gone home to Jesus leaving me behind.

I cried even though I didn't know her. Hearing her sons and husband talk about her, made me want to live for what she lived for. And then I giggled to myself cause I already do. She lived for Jesus, and I'm living for Jesus.

Beautiful....Simply, Peacefully, Beautiful.

Next week started VBS, followed by a sleepover for the young kids, a pool party, and then youth group. All in 8 days. phewie. It's gonna be rough, and I'm going to be TIRED. so I ask your prayers for stamina. I'm gonna need it. :0)
Only Three weeks left and then I get home!!!! :0) Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! It's SO funny, I'm already making plans to hang out with friends back home and spend every waking moment with my boyfriend. ( I REAAAALLLY miss him, if you didn't gather that already....hahahaha). it's so weird to make plans to go to the Pacific Ocean when I'm in Pennsylvania. ;0)

I love you all, and I can't wait to see you!!!!

Love

~ME

VBS: Only the Beginning...

Hello friends and family!!!!!

6 weeks down and 4 to go!! It's gone by SO fast, crazy huh? I hope the next four go by just as fast, and also not as fast. lol. I just know that when I get to the end of my time here I won't be able to wait to get home, but I'm going to be SO sad to leave at the same time. I've made some awesome friends here, and have created from awesome relationships that I want to keep beyond the summer. One part of me can't visualize myself living, and the other part of me never left home. Hmmmmm, well God will sort me out thankfully. haha.

Today was a pretty fun day. I spent all my time working on VBS stuff. I made a surf board!!!! I painted it, and cut it out! I almost died doing it... lol. That knife thinger is pretty dangerous. but don't worry I dominated it. Bwahahahaha.

A friend came to help us out today in terms of painting and she is a WIZARD with paint and art and things. She painted a back ground scene for out stage that was ultimately the best thing ever. lol. Apparently this church hasn't done much in terms of VBS in the past years. Like NOTHING. No decorations or costumes or anything. So what we are doing for next week is going to be like Disneyland for these kids. I am so excited to be a part of it... and to have contributed a SURF BOARD....made of cardboard...but made with SO much love.... teehee. I'm really happy that these kids are going to get a taste of how much they are loved for the week.

I'm overall in charge of the dramas. Which means I have a team of three actors, hahaha, including myself and we get to open the VBS night and then do the story-telling and then close the night with a skit. It should be really fun... I'm meeting with my team on Thursday night and kind of planning everything out and running through things. I'm excited to see it fall together. It may be kind of low budget, but it's going to be the BEST ever. :0D

This Sunday, I am also leading worship for the 9am service. And I just got the order of worship down today at the request of Pastor Belita. I'm a little nervous about leading worship cause I haven't done it since before Jr. High. But see that's what life is about, jumping in head first and being unafraid to make mistakes. So here I go, a-mistake making. Wish me luck! lol.

I almost forgot! Highlight of the past week was getting to hang out with my East Coast family! Aunt Sandy came and picked me up last Saturday and we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to have lunch (which was fantastic!!! Grandma fed us veggies and potatoes from her own garden!). Uncle Ed, Jason, the Grandparents, Aunt Sandy and I were all there. It was really cool to see everyone. I've missed them lots. Then Aunt Sandy, Uncle Ed, and I went to see Transformers. Holy crow that movie was LOUD. I went in with super low expectations and so was not disappointed as others have been. As far as a Micheal Bay big movie, full of explosions, and one liners....it was pretty good. I had fun. Ed and Sandy seemed to enjoy it too, so that made me happy. lol. Ed drove me home and we had a good conversation. I realized some where in the course of the afternoon that I had never hung out with my family without my parents around. It made me miss home, but I really enjoyed getting to see my family with out the eyes of my Parents. :0)

Well I'm fixin' to watch 'The Princess Bride". It's going to be on the ABC family channel. LOL. I haven't had cable in so long, i feel so spoiled. teehee.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I'll try to blog again before the week is up. The rest of the week has me out rather late each night and then occupied on Saturday and tied up Sunday...so maybe Monday?

I'll talk to you then.

Love you all so much!!!

Love

~ME

Stop it Uzzah! *ZAAP* uh-oh....

Hey Friends and Family (and Now uncle Ed, special shout out, cause you haven't been getting these blogs. lol....well late night time reading for you to keep you company! lol....i sawwry)

Anyhizzle, It's been an interesting past few days.... hahaha....when hasn't it been an interesting past few days you might ask......well I might answer....never. It's always interesting around these here parts.Pastor Belita is back and in action. It's been good to have her around the office again, like the final puzzle piece for Harrisburg First Church fell nicely into place. On the other hand....that actually means I have to get work done *sigh* ....i kid i kid. I worked the whole time.... Promise. ;0)

Today we had the Volunteer Luncheon for people who help out in the Office with Administrative stuffs and junks. I was in charge of planning and putting it together. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and so were the volunteers who attended, so that made me quite happy.
Now, however, I am beat. I could really sit down, fall over, and sleep for the remainder of the day as my morning was dedicated to getting that luncheon up and running. Phewwwwie. I am sleepy...

Well i wanted to share a bit about what God and I have been chatting about. Lately I've been going through this Daily Devo book called "Streams in the Desert" and it's a little compilation of stories, insights, poems, and quotes to help get us through the tough times, which really....is every single day. LOL. So yes, anyway, I've been really enjoying it. On July 6th, however, God said BAM. and I said, "whoa." He said... "What now sugar?" and I said, "Cool." lol.
There is a scripture I have always struggled with, and it's the one about Uzzah and how he tried to catch the Ark of the Covenant when the ox stumbled and the Ark almost fell. I've always been like, "Hey God..that wasn't necessary, the dude was only trying to help!!" ...and then it hit me. He was trying to help.

So the dude who wrote for July 6th, said it this way: he says that Uzzah got zapped cause he touched something he should have let alone. If something is completely God's, it's been completely given to him....don't touch it people!!! You'll mess it up!

So let's look at Jen for a minute here.... about (and Kristi's gonna have to help me with this one) two years ago? one year ago? two years ago... I think... I was baptized in the Clark's backyard pool, not at a salvation statement (that came when I was 8 or something)...but as a Promise to my Heavenly Daddy that I was gonna take my hands off my future and give to him as a gift. He gave me eternal life, so I gave him my earthy life. Seemed fair to me. Ever since then, whenever I start making decisions about my future and say something like "I'm going here to school..." or "I'm going to do this or that" God says, "Nope. You're doing this...remember, you promised."

*sigh*

SO...to make a long story longer, God reminded me that my future belongs to him and I had better stop messin' with it. lol. This is both comforting and terrifying. Yippeeeeee.... LOL. But terrifying or not, it sure makes life interesting..

Aside from the distant future, I'm looking forward to this saturday. Aunt Sandy is coming to get me, and we are going to see a movie! Yippeedoodles! Transformers!!! WOOT. I've decided that's what I need to survive this week for. lol.

Pastor Gerald just came in and informed me of some work i need to be doing, so I'm off! I hope you are all having a spectacular week!

I love you!
Love
~ME

Simply.

Happy Fourth of July my friends and family!

I hope you are all having a beautiful day full of friends, family, and fireworks. My day has been pleasant in its own way.

The picture at the right is of my this morning...I found Simply Orange (FANTASTIC orange juice) at the grocery store in town...and I was sharing this with Laura, so I decided to share it with you too!!! That's also in the kitchen of the house I'm living at. :0)

I am now officially with out wheels!!! :0) I picked Grandma and Grandpa up at the airport around 5:30pm and they headed off home from there. It was good to see them and hear about their trip a little bit. Other than seeing them I've had a pretty quite day to myself. The weather was beautiful today....i have caught myself thinking more than once about what this land looked like 200 some odd years ago when our forefathers were fighting for freedom. It's really weird being on the land that was stained with so much sweat and blood over freedom. I've found myself wondering what these hills would look like with out all the houses and industry piled on top of it. What battles (that never made the history books) happened where? Why does it still feel like some of us are fighting for freedom today?

America's battle may have been won, but what about the rest of the world? We are all one family, this whole world.... i'm ready for all the violence to stop....for peace to prevail again. I'm ready to go back to the Garden. Jesus? please? Soon?

On a different note, i ask your prayers for the Harrisburg Congregation. A dear member was lost to cancer this morning at 11:45am..her name is Doris Frysinger, and she was a very active member of the church....well loved by everyone who met her. I even had the honor of meeting her before she passed. Pray that hearts will be comforted, because she has been graciously called Home. She's the lucky one, after all, we're still here. Her husband needs some extra prayer, he just lost the love of his life and has battled depression for parts of his life. So pray that the devil won't grab hold of that and destroy him. Let light prevail. He needs Daddy right now, to grieve in a healthy way, and walk day by day knowing she's okay.

Pastor Belita is home also. I am looking forward to talking to her about her thoughts on conference and her vacation travels. I hope she comes back rested and ready to go. ;0) She's leading worship tomorrow, which I'm sure is divine intervention.

For me- i am asking God right now for guidance, and a clear way to what I'm supposed to be doing when I get home. I can feel a shift in my soul...or maybe a magnification. I don't know. I'm waiting for God to tell me what this inner peaceful chaos means for me. Discernment is what I need...to hear God's call on my life more clearly. That's my desire. Also, at the same time to remain present here in Harrisburg. i am growing closer and more in love with the kids in this city... many of them have attitude problems and super rough backgrounds that I am thankful i can't relate to...but my heart breaks for them. I wanna love them, to help teach them better ways to deal with conflict than guns, hitting, and emotional damage.

Well I'm pretty tired...and getting more busy as I reach the middle of my time here. So my blogs may become little inconsistent, but I will try to keep you updated as much as I can!

I love you all, and continue to pray for you as I am here!!!

I love you!!!!! OODLES.

Love

~ME

Public Safety Meeting

Hello all!

I've got sort of an easy day today so I decided to dedicate part of my day to writing this blog. :0) Just cause I love you guys so much.

Last night Josiah and I went to City Hall for a Public Safety Meeting. This meeting was designed so that members of the community could voice concerns and solutions about the recent extreme violence in the neighborhood. It was conducted by the Head of the Public Safety committee for the city, and unless I am mistaken, she was a woman of God quoting scripture before the meeting began. I really appreciated the way she set it up saying that this was not to be a blame fest, but a meeting for solutions. Everyone is at fault, so don't point fingers, just offer solutions. As far as I'm concerned, everyone played by the rules....except this one guy who got up and started complaining about parking tickets. 0_0 for real? wow....she shut him up right quick, thankfully.

Josiah and I didn't stay for the whole meeting, because we had been invited to dinner that night, but had it not been for the hunger in our stomachs we might not have left. Everyone seemed to be providing some really sane and well thought out solutions to this violence. Most of the ideas involved getting the kids off of the streets and into programs, and reinforcing the curfew in the neighborhood, which they also suggested be moved from 11pm to an early time. I totally agree with that. Elementary school kids have no business being on the streets after 9.... let alone 11. They should be sleepin!!!! or something... come on now.

It was also really interesting to see parents harping on parents. Instead of spending the time blaming the kids for the violence, they were blaming themselves for not being better parents and watching out for their kids. One man said, "We have to get these parents out of the bars and hair salons, and into the lives of their children!" I say Amen to that. The people who spoke their minds also had something to say about community. They said it needed to be reinforced, one lady said, "Do not yell at me for correcting your child. Back me up, like I'd back you up for correcting my child." They want to create a tough love kind of environment where kids have their biological parents and also a group of other respectable adults that will hold them accountable in their life. The parents called for parents to stand up and BE a parent, NOT a friend. These kids need parents, and I'll bet a million dollars they want parents too.

I'm praying that all these solutions and quotes get heard by the people in charge, and that action is taken. The police can only do so much. It's up the community in a lot of ways, to patrol their own streets and protect their own families. And they are aware of that, and in some cases have even started their own community safety squads and things. Kudos to them.

After the meeting we went to Doris and Woody Ziegler's house for dinner.....

BEST DINNER OF MY YOUNG LIFE.

Doris made stir-fry, mashed potatoes, potato stuffing bread thingy, beef something other, gravy, salad, fruit, and her own bread. YUUUUUUUUUUUMMMY. It all tasted GLORIOUS. And for desert we had our choice of chocolate-peanut butter cake, rhubarb pie, and ice cream. I had the cake and ice cream. My tummy was so happy... i might as well have already been in heaven.

*** We interrupt your regular program for a weather warning***

Jimminy Christmas!! It's raining outside like there is NO tomorrow. Sideways....and everything. Holy cows on ice!!! There is a river coming in down the street!!! Daaaaaaang.

*** Thank for your attention***

So far today has been easy and un-exciting...except for the torrential down-pour.

Love you all, hope you are having a beautiful week.

P.S. Special shout out to Kristi Anne Hawkins for getting an amazing job at APU! YOU GO GIRL.

Love

~ME