Andrea's Ark

So I've decided to build an ark (similar to Noah's) and live in it; I'm thinking it might at least be dryer than my apartment!
As most of you probably know, we've been getting hit hard with storms for the past few days, and last night was the worst yet. In all my time living in Chicago, I don't think I've seen a storm like this one. My roommate and I and a friend of mine were all in our apartment when suddenly I felt something wet on my foot. I looked down and realized that water was coming through our walls! AHHHH! Before we knew it, we found ourselves trapped in the apartment with water continuously coming in both the front and back doors, and through the walls. (The water level was too high by both doors to get out.) This happened to us last fall, but thankfully this time we had a bit more "warning" and were able to get most of our things and furniture off the floor. I was so frustrated, but a really cool thing happened in the midst of all the madness: our neighbors came and began bailing us out! Because we were trapped, we'd called our landlord (who lives upstairs) and he came down with a bucket and began the "process". One of our neighbors saw him out the window, so she came over with her daughter, and a few other guys joined them. They made an assembly line and worked for probably about 1/2 hr. to get the water level down. I didn't even know 2 of the people helping, yet there they were, serving me above and beyond (keep in mind it's still storming outside as they're helping). Maybe it was because I was so on edge (or maybe it was because one doesn't experience generosity like this very often), but I suddenly felt like crying. I experienced genuine caring, and I was really challenged: would I do the same?

Cutest Baby in the World!

My friend has the absolute most adorable baby I've ever seen! (I'm sure I'm not biased at all :)

Oh, How We Love Summer Camp!

I got back today from a week away at Camp Timberlee with our kids from Breakthrough. I walked in my front door, shut my cell phone off, threw a load of laundry in the wash, laid down on my couch, and am now taking a bit of time to write. Needless to say, I currently feel completely exhausted! I'm blessed to have a night to myself to be refreshed.
Overall, the week went really well. We did everything from horseback riding, to wall climbing, to archery, to boat rides, to night hikes (most of which generally involved some type of screaming/freaking out.) It's so good to get away from our normal "programming" and just focus on our relationships with the kids. We took a great group of girls, with which we had a lot of laughs :) I was reminded many times of how much I love these kids and desire for them to love God.
After the final "church session" last night, one of our girls told me she needed to talk to me. We went on a walk, and she proceeded to ask me some really good questions. Things like if she believes in Jesus, why doesn't her life really look like it? What does it even look like to love God? How do you tell your friends about God, and why is it so scary? I definitely didn't have all the answers, and she seemed okay with that. I did try to encourage her by saying that the way in which we love Jesus doesn't always look the same for everyone. For instance, the way I love Jesus might be very different from the way she loves Jesus, or her mom loves Jesus. I told her various ways in which I'd observed her loving God that week by the way she treated other people in our group, or helped wipe off the tables without complaining, or sang songs during rally time. We talked for quite awhile, and I pray that this conversation with her will continue on even into the future...
I've been really discouraged lately when it comes to the girls; I can't help but be grateful for how God used this week to remind me in part of why He's given me the privilege of being involved in their lives.

Am I Grateful?

I teach a summer girls' swimming class, and yesterday was our last day for the summer. As a result, we were taking the girls to dinner at Pizza Hut after class to celebrate our fun times together :) Now, I enjoy being able to do things like this; I'm glad that Breakthrough has the means. Yet I found myself getting so frustrated with the lack of gratefulness I saw in many of the girls. It just wasn't enough! They wanted breadsticks, more pizza, more __________, and there was grumbling and complaining when I said we were not getting any more! We were finished eating and one of the girls leaned over to me and asked me if I would buy her something. I looked at her and told her "I did buy you something. I just bought you pizza and pop." AHHHHHHH!
I got home and was thinking about the night, and recalled a conversation my friend Sarah and I had a few days ago. We were talking about basic privileges we have, such as food to eat, a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, etc.... and how I almost always treat these things as a "given"; as something I'm supposed to have. How often do I stop and find myself being grateful...really grateful, for these things?
It's funny how the lack of gratefulness I see in others irritates me so much, yet when it's myself, I don't even think twice.

Laughing In The Dark

"Some days
are dim
as alleyways
where the streetlights' glow
can't reach
and laughter
is the one and only spark
luminous enough
to pierce
the dark."

Too Close to Home

It's always easier when it's just a random family on the news. I see their grief, and I may even feel a twinge of empathy for them before I move on to my own busy day. Yet when it happens to a family I love and care deeply about; when a 23 year old young man I know is killed, gun violence stops being just another statistic or late-night news story. It's real, it takes lives, and it tears families apart.
I walked down the block today. A lot of the family members were there sitting out front. I gave some hugs, sat down and talked to a few people a bit, and loved on a baby. I felt so incredibly helpless! There was absolutely nothing I could say in that moment that would make anyone feel better or lessen the pain of this loss.
So I sat in the chair out front, loved on the baby, and prayed.
In moments like these, that has to be enough.

It Starts with 1

I've been feeling a sort of heaviness lately for our kids, especially the girls that we work with. My mind has frequently over the past few days been going to a place of "mourning", so to speak. I feel as if there's a complete lack of spiritual interest in our kids, and it scares me. I keep thinking about that passage in the Bible where God is ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.18-19) and Abraham goes to God pleading for the people. He doesn't want the righteous to get destroyed with the wicked. They go back and forth, starting with 50 people all the way down to 10, and yet even that number proves to be too large; the city is destroyed. The city was spiritually dead! I don't want to lose an entire generation of our kids because they are spiritually dead. I've begun praying that God will raise up 1 girl amongst our group to be the leader for the rest; to be the one who will stand in the gap and challenge her culture, her friends, and even us "leaders".
It was stated to me the other night that often people tend to grow in their faith due to what they see and are challenged by in their peers. I don't want to settle for mediocrity. I believe that our kids can be passionate and excited and growing in their journeys with Christ. And I want to pray to that end.