Time Still Marches On

How has it already been over three months since I sat and actually wrote out a blog post- let alone thought about it?

Please excuse the ramblings of a possibly over-caffeinated YouthWorks staff who happens to be bubbling with excitement over being LESS THAN ONE WEEK from being home!

If you want a quick summation of what I've been doing for the last 3 months, read on! If you want a quick summation of what I'll be doing when I get home, feel free to scroll to the bottom. If you don't actually know why you clicked this link... I'm not sure what to tell you?

Hey, thanks for reading this far! Already my time in Detroit is finishing up. In three days, I will be in the air toward Seattle after being away from home since we flew out May 13. Needless to say, doing things basically nonstop for three months makes time fly and in reality, there is no way I could possibly remember everything I have been doing these last months so here is a quick snapshot!

Let's go back to the beginning? My family and I (minus Miss Rebekah and Mr. Brian) spent about a week driving through most of the north eastern United States. We hit 12 new states (well, new for most of us), stayed in a charming brownstone in NYC, viewed some monuments throughout DC, blinked and we were already through Boston, dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean and tasted some lobster in Maine, and sat in a car for so many hours. "Whirlwind" barely describes it- memorable, and not long enough could also be used to describe that week.

From that part of the trip, they dropped me off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for RAMP training for the job I held this summer. That week of training, we got to know our fellow staff members both from our own site and from other YouthWorks sites around the area. When we finished that week of training, we drove to Detroit for prepping before our students arrived. We cleaned the church we have stayed in, painted posters, met with service partners, cleaned some more, went to meetings, became familiar with the city, ate some gross food, ate some good food, attended church and worked almost constantly from 10 AM until around 10 PM.

After two weeks in Detroit, we drove over to Chicago where we had "Early Bird" training. Essentially, we were shadowing a site which had their first group of students and we had the opportunity to see our position in action, with closer supervision from our supervisors so we could ask questions and have any wrinkles ironed out before we started the following Sunday with our first group of students.

For the most part, the past 8 weeks have been filled with students, parents, adult leaders, service partners, and community members. We have had over 200 high school students and adult leaders come through our doors and we have been blessed by each and every one of them in so many different ways. Our average day consists of being up and ready downstairs by 7 AM, feeding the students and directing them in the kitchen, visiting service sites and partnering alongside the students, facilitating showers (sometimes like herding cats, really), facilitating an evening activity in the community, leading Large Group Gathering (worship, praise reports, sharing staff stories, and having some discussion questions), then getting the kids to bed (or at least the lights out) by 11 PM.

Long days, I can assure you. I think I've never been so thankful for sleep as I have been these last few weekends! The vision and dreams these students hold? SO. COOL. We have met some of the sweetest students and we have seen perspectives being changed each week.

Really, we have learned how Detroit is so much more than what they tell you on the news. I'm not saying there isn't bad- Detroit is a city. That's a fact. There are bad things everywhere. BUT Detroit is so so so much more. When we walked downtown our first time, we were all astonished at the architectural beauty. We were surprised by how sociable people were. We loved getting to explore this city. When we walked through the neighborhood where we have lived for the last few months, time and time again I was stunned by the beauty of the nighborhood and I sounded like a broken record saying I would not be objected to moving here.

Basically, if you have the opportunity to ever do any travel to see Detroit or serve here, please please please take the chance. While we have been here, we never had to take a student to the hospital, only once or twice did I feel like I should get inside quickly  (because we were walking around in the dark in areas we didn't know very well). Also, please be weary of things you hear in the news. Don't take everything at face value. "Don't judge a book by its cover." And I would like to add, "Don't judge a place by it's news reports." I can assure you once you start to hear someone's story, and actually listen, there is no way you won't find at least some compassion bubbling up inside you.
*steps off soap box*

--> If you are nosy and just want to know what happens next, start here <--

Moving forward, today we drive to Steubenville, Ohio to put away some storage. Then tomorrow we will arrive back in Pittsburgh for some closing things before flying home on Wednesday morning.

When I get home, I am not completely sure what I will be doing. I'll probably be buying a car. I'll definitely be getting a job (where is TBD) and I will be continuing to seek new perspectives.

As usual, if you would like to grab coffee  (I'm ready to grab my Fiddler's!) and chat, I would love that! Just shoot me a text and let me know!

Thank you for reading any little sliver of this! Looking forward to catching up with you.

God bless and love from me,
Erin