Clearly it has been quite a bit since my last update... its been a while since I've really had the time to focus and remember to sit down and write something on here. Sorry for that.
The past two weeks have been crazy. We finished up our three week trifecta of group weeks and concluded our summer. Following family week we had a group of about 27 volunteers come. This previous week (the third and final week of volunteers) we had 37 volunteers all from New York. Those two weeks I have been leading a worksite with Julie in Pennsboro, about a 45 minute drive from the farm. We are working on residing Laura Husk's house there and will finish up the site tomorrow with a few other staff members. It was been a great worksite and we have had some excellent chaperones who are confident in their siding skills and leading volunteers which has allowed us to really focus on the entire house and get people moving each day at the site rather than having a slow start to the day. Laura has four children and a niece who are usually around the site with us wanting to work on their house. It has been great to see those kids interact with us and really have a desire to work with us. At the same time it has been slightly difficult to manage the site, the volunteers, and those kids at the same time. Julie and I both will be somewhat sad to move on from the site and hope to keep in contact with the Husk's, however it is always rewarding (I'm sure) to finish a site and see the final producto f your work.
Usually after three group weeks in a row the staff has Monday and Tuesday of the following week off... so we had today off. However this week is a bit different since next week is our summer break. We are working this week Tuesday through Thursday and then off on Friday. I plan on going to the Founder's Day celebrations in Salyersville while also being in Cincinnati for the Labor Day fireworks, in Dayton to catch up with old friends and have quite a bit of time with Caitlin and then back to Cincy to see some family and stop by Moeller before returning to the farm to work on the 8th. It should definitely be a good two weeks of staff time, finishing up work, and relaxation with friends.
I've found myself somewhat struggling to feel like I am really giving of myself, doing something out of the ordinary, or even doing something a bit radical. It sounds a bit ignorant to say but I think because I've done so much community service that this doesn't quite seem like anything out of the ordinary for me. It's exactly what I expected. However, I don't really feel like I am reliving the UDSAP experience of last summer. I think I could really use some time to reflect on where I'm at here, how to make my mark and give it my all. I do remember at UDSAP having the mentality that I would do anything that was asked of me, even if it made me uncomfortable, just so that I wouldn't pass up any experiences. I think I want to bring a bit of that mentality back and possibly make it into a long-term mental state. Live life to the fullest. As part of our day off today the staff went to a pool in Bridgeport/ Clarksburg and I managed to challenge myself to go off of the high dive quite a few times (I went off the 10 foot diving board once) and I found that to be a good start to challenging myself to those uncomfortable times. I definitely need to think of good conversation starters to use with volunteers so that I can connect with them more easily and establish those relationships.
On Saturday John Donnelly, a staff member who was helping out for the summer as Nazareth Farm's Project Coordinator, returned home after his summer stay. Today the staff said goodbye to Joe, another staff member who had been here for close to a year. Joe was one of the staff members that I really felt like I could never wrap my finger around but always wanted to get to know more. He was definitely a positive influence on the farm in his efforst to make the experience more sustainable for volunteers, in his passion to do whatever is asked of him, and in his balance of our four conerstones of community, simplicity, prayer and service. I can't help but feel that since Joe had such a large impact orienting me to the farm and is such an example of Christ that he has passed his torch on to me and I strive to embody those characteristics in my time here on staff.
Sorry to have such a long entry after such a long delay. Thanks for sticking with me. Prayers are always welcome... feel free to shoot my an email too, please :).
