Eleven Months in Denver

Introduction to Blogger.com

2010-09-08T00:27:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of tid bits of information to help you navigate around this page (esp. for those who don't have much experience with blogs, this post is future dated so that it will stay at the top of the page.)

   1. You can add this website (http://elevenmonthsindenver.blogspot.com/) to your bookmarks, which will allow you to easily find it without having to remember the address everytime you want to catch up on my adventures.

    2. You can become a follower of this blog and you will receive an email letting you know when I have updated it, there is a link on the left hand side of the page to do this. All you need to do is click on the link and follow the instructions.

    3. You can leave comments about any of my posts. There is a link underneath each post labeled comments in which to do this. You don't need to be a follower to leave a comment but if you aren't a member please leave your name so that I know who left what.

4. You can look through my old posts by clicking on any of the links in the Blog Archive section

If you have any other questions please feel free to get in touch with me. I wouldn't call myself an expert by any means but I will do my best to get back to you with the answer. I hope that you enjoy hearing about my YAV year.

Where did it go?

2010-07-29T17:52:00.000-04:00

So over the last two months I have been home celebrating my cousin's graduation, I have seen the largest hail ever, I was in a snow storm in June, I spent two days in the hospital, a week recovering from the hospital, fell and scraped my knee (and now feel like a little kid again) and started working full time for my agency.

I spend my time wondering where my time has gone but looking at this list makes me realize how much I have really done. I can't believe this time as a YAV/Dweller is about to come to an end.

(Don't worry my hospital stay was brief, though I did leave without my appendix but my recovery went well and starting Monday I will be able to lift items over 10lbs again.)

Lots to catch up on

2010-07-12T00:13:00.002-04:00

So I know its been two months since I have posted anything, its crazy how fast time has gone. I barely remember the month of May, one minute it was Cinco de Mayo an the next I was hanging out with friends for Memorial Day. June was just as bad from being home the first week getting to spend lots of time with my family to spending the last weekend in the hospital recovering from an emergency appendectomy. I have lots more to write and will be posting it tomorrow along with some new pictures.

Response to Heavy Heart

2010-04-26T23:46:00.001-04:00

I wrote this a week or so ago after some reflection:

I spent some time reflecting tonight and began to wonder how we break the cycles we have created. How does a child, raised by a parent who was in turn raised by their parent who had no time, tolerance or parenting skill break out of that to become a great parent? How do they become role models for the next generation and create an environment that encourages their children to grow? How do we spread the love that we have for those that are close to us to everyone and make those societal changes that allow and encourage us to love our neighbors as ourselves? I don’t know the answer but do know how we live in community here has really changed my approach to interacting and caring for everyone I come in contact with. We live by Matthew 18 and know that our intentions for each other are good and important and I encourage all of us to really start to think the same way.

Molly has a great saying, “we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions.” What would our neighborhood, city, country and world look like if we all walked around with this in our heads?

Things to make you pause and think

2010-04-26T23:43:00.001-04:00

Is it ever acceptable to suggest sending dog food to the starving children in Africa?
I mean, it’s nutritious and cheap…
Ex-offenders don’t really need new, clean underwear, do they?
I mean, they were in prison anything has to be better than that…
When offered anything they might like for Christmas, low-income high school students shouldn’t even think to ask for ipods, TV’s and Nintendo’s right?
I mean, they are low income and should be happy with whatever they get…

These are just a few of the stories I have heard since I moved here, one of which was actually part of a conversation I had with someone. I think sometimes its easy to view everything through the lens of more for you money the better.

I encourage everyone who reads this to think about “those” people as your kids, your mom, your brother or your grandpa. Think about how you would treat them and remember “those” people fill someoneelse's family role…

Great Post by my Roomie Meghan!

2010-04-15T00:32:00.005-04:00

This is a great post that I encourage all of you to read even though I didn't write it. Please copy and paste the link below!

http://megindenver.blogspot.com/2010/02/bus.html?showComment=1271305909853_AIe9_BHvdRhBy_rkBNJYomXJDfQJolpyybqFPr4Llz9E5kkaXXnO-Vc7k7Z6ei_PpD97Midk78jvPd2xv1JzFG0LjtDxr-2mzEOTSSmjWCSBVh5eMNks0-idUZu9NR2vbtGImW4YIzvBH90u_tTNNrG-RuOoKIkCuYcrkB2dtc4Rrh-Qi1LJXpl9eu3UXto6k4G2-6ZF3IVEHDZ2CNHNDXvhM9k7fI1Zw#c5884028354927188394

Heavy Heart

2010-04-15T00:18:00.001-04:00

I write tonight with a bit of a heavy heart, noticing that I have let the things out of my control once again sneak up on me. After a particularly interesting day, with many twists and turns, I come home wanting and needing answers but know that only time will provide them. The discomfort brought on tonight is one that stems from the differences of my life and the ones that I have been asked to serve. These differences are ones that I hardly notice anymore except on rare occasions when someone, somehow points them out.

Tonight was worship, worship without our Head Pastor. I was asked to step in to help, which included canceling Children’s Church (as we call it these days). This meant that the children would have to sit through the whole service. As they arrived I invited them to join me, to help make up for the part of church that has become routine for them, the hour that we spend God and learning about him.

Now I don’t always look forward to preparing for Children’s Church but I have come to realize how much many of the children enjoy it. So tonight while we prepared for regular worship to start I knew the children would want to talk and interrupt the service so I pulled out some of the coloring sheets that I store for when we run out of things to do, as well as some markers. For the most part the children stayed quiet and joined in during the prayers as we went. After worship I was approached by a regular member of our worshiping community who proceeded to tell me that they don’t allow children to color and draw during the service, that they should be paying attention. I apologized and let him know that I hadn’t heard that before and was trying to keep them quiet to let the adults enjoy the message. Although this didn’t seem to satisfy him he moved on with a grumble. I apologized again after dinner, making sure to let him know that I had in no way meant to upset or disturb the normal proceedings of worship at the parish, but was left wondering how that rule every got put in place. I understand the importance of children paying attention in God’s house but as a 7 year-old there is only so much sitting quietly that they can handle.

It was during the ride home that I was challenged once more about raising kids and how different that can look. I think in many ways I was raised on a rewards system, which turned me into a pleaser, always wanting to know that I had done a good job and that whoever I was trying to please was proud of me. That system can look different in every home but it is the opposite that I have a hard time understanding. I believe in discipline, and respect and know how important those lessons are for all of us to learn. I also understand that its not my place ever to tell someone how to raise or treat their kids but I feel that so many children really want to please someone and many times aren’t given the opportunity to do that.

I’m not a parent, just the oldest child out of an extended family made up of four kids and someone who thinks she has learned some about working with children over the last few months. I want and wish that I could provide the place of comfort that my family provided for me as I learned the many lessons life has to teach us. The hardest part is knowing that I won’t be here for forever and that I’m not their parent but somehow finding a way to share our lives with each other during this short time we have together.

Rediscovering my faith...

2010-04-03T02:00:00.001-04:00

April Article for the Broadstreeter Newsletter...

A few weeks ago I attended a Young Adult retreat located on the
Western slope of Pike’s Peak. The weather was beautiful, the views
magnificent and even though our van managed to get stuck on the side
of the mountain the retreat was a great experience. (We had to call
the camp director to come help us get our van unstuck, which he did
very successfully.)

The theme of the retreat was talking about what makes up our faith as
a community and how four specific components establish our individual
faith. Those components are Rituals, Spiritual, Community and
Lifestyle. The weekend started off with discussions about Rituals of
our faith and which ones we connected to or experienced God the most.
As we moved into deeper discussion I began to realize that it doesn’t
matter which of those four pieces an individual relates to the best.It
is more a matter of understanding and accepting yourself, and knowing
there is no right or wrong. Once you accept yourself then you can
challenge yourself in your faith to grow the other areas. By beginning
the conversation with the discussion about rituals, which is one of
the parts that I connect with and experience God in the best, I was
able to see the interrelatedness of all four. Being able to recognize
what kinds of rituals I connect with the most has led me to discover
ways to grow my Spiritual side (which we defined as our personal
relationship with God). I have recognized the importance of personal
time to spend in relationship with God.

The one message that all 30 Young Adults left the retreat with is the
recognition that we may all have a different ways of experiencing God
and expressing that but being able to understand that allows us to
accept that we are all “wonderfully and fearfully made,” just the way
God intended.

Preparing for Easter

2010-04-03T01:57:00.000-04:00

This is the big week, the week leading up to Easter. Its a time of year that is busy and always has me asking where the time has gone.

This year is no different but the ways that I have spent my time in preparing have changed. Since starting with DICP I have planned creative ways to engage the children of the worship community. This week is no exception, we planed to "Prepare for Easter" by coloring eggs, talking about the Son of God and many crafts to help welcome in the good news.

At Central, the church I'm attending, I prepared to teach a class for the Sr. Highs again "Preparing for Easter." I spent about an hour and a half looking at the stories leading up to Easter and reflecting on the different services that go along with them. I focused on the amazing gift God gave and it struck me how amazing it really is but it also made me sad. I started thinking about why the story had to unfold the way it did, why the the only way for it to end with the good news meant the suffering of our savior.

As I was preparing and thinking I started to think about the world we live in today. Has it really changed? What is it that we respond to in this world, hurt destruction, devastation? Why don't we get the same response from the acts of kindness? All of these things seem to sneak up on us because they are easier to keep on the back burner.

I forget sometimes how different my life here is and how what I see and who I serve on a daily basis is not the norm for many within our country let alone our communities. As the end of my YAV year drawers closer I know that part of my challenge is to continue to remember and pass along the stories I have been a part of.

Maundy Thursday has always been one of my favorite services, maybe because its easier for me to relate to the pain and suffering, maybe its because so many of us walk around with pieces of that in our heart. It allows me to connect to the great gift we have been given by knowing that it wasn't given easily. By being able to recognize that and holding that knowledge in my heart and mind I carry it with me where ever I go.

The story of Easter is one of celebration and joy, but that celebration and joy all came for a price and that

Been a while...

2010-03-24T20:31:00.000-04:00

So its been a while since I posted anything, more like two months really and I will admit that a lot has happened. In many ways it feels like nothing, or the same thing but I know that's not really true.

February is just a blur, being out of town three out of four weekends will do that and January seems like a distant memory.

There is one that sticks out, much to the chagrin of those of you who want me to come home. It was my first day back, after dropping my stuff at home I ran into work to check on a couple of things. While in the office I was asked to help with a furniture pick up at one of our supporting churches. Although it was one of the last things I wanted to do I went to help.

It was one of the first times I got to drive our 15 passenger van alone and I was nervous. After packing everything up, while headed back to the parish driving up I-25 I looked to the west and got a beautiful view of the mountains. The sun was out and the sky was blue and I just had a feeling that this was where I belonged.

As I wrote in my last blog entry, I'm not sure what the future holds yet but don't be surprised if involves me extending my time here in Denver.

Patience

2010-03-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

So this one word has begun to show how it will weave its self into my life. As many of you know, I am not always the best at being patient and somehow this word and all that it entails plans to change all of that. It has only been since the middle of July that I have started to realize how important this small word is going to be for me.

It all began with my application process for YAV. In the beginning I was the one being patient. I took my time getting my application together, within a week of asking for an endorsement from my session, I was endorsed and I still waited another month to turn in MY paperwork. Once I had everything together the emails started. I hadn't signed this page, one of my references had gotten the wrong form to fill out and only continued into the initial conversation part of my experience. It took me what felt like weeks to get in touch with all of the site coordinators in order to decide who to interview with and where I wanted to be.

Once that big decision was made came the real test, the test that keeps on testing. I had decided that Denver was where I needed to be or rather called to be. The agency I was very interested in lost funding. A few other opportunities popped up but they weren't what I thought I wanted. Another opportunity arose and once again I my patience was tested. It took two months to find out about this potential full time position and when the news came it wasn't what I wanted to hear. All of this time I was becoming more anxious about my living situation and who I would be spending the next year living with. All the while, going to church on Sunday and talking to friends and family and expressing my concerns, the answer was much the same, "it will all work out...don't worry it will all be as God intended." Although this didn't come out boldly as JUST BE PATIENT it was there and I could feel myself pushing against it.

As the year has gone on I have been tested, it took a while to find a group of friends in this new city, then when I felt like I would die of boredom they were found, it took months to find a mentor but now that I have her I wouldn't have wanted anyone else.

It hasn't been easy but I am finally finding the rewards of the lesson I was forced to learn. I am beginning the last half of my time here and the big question on everyone's mind is what's next. Although I wonder about it on a regular basis I also know that things will work out and I will end up where I end up. I am going with the flow and preparing myself for whatever comes next. This year of learning patience has also help me to be open to the future and not stress (as much) about things I can't control. I wouldn't say I'm perfect at practicing patience but I am leaps and bounds beyond where I was.

2009 Toy Give-a-Away

2009-12-30T15:02:00.000-05:00

What a long last work week of 2009. I typically only work Monday through Thursday, which leaves Friday as a community day. This past week DICP held its annual Toy Give-a-Away on Friday December 18th. Since it is our big Christmas event it meant that we would need quite a few volunteers and to top off all of that the guy who usually runs it broke his leg about three week ago. Needless to says this means I worked Friday, as planned but was trying to figure things out on the fly. Now don't get me wrong all of our staff was around doing what they usually do for the event but it was very crazy for me with it being my first time at the event. Here’s a recap of the day:

Once Friday rolled around I woke up bright and early (6am) and headed down to the parish to make sure everything was in order. Upon my arrival I looked around the corner to find over 100 people waiting in line for their tickets. The first person in line had arrived at 6pm the night before making sure to get the best spot. So the way the day works, people line up and beginning at 7am one of our staff begin to hand out tickets to those in line. The calling of the tickets started at 9am starting with the first ticket and person and ending with the last, whose ticket number was in the 400’s. (Very clever I know.) In order for the families to get tickets they have to have legal documentation for each child and each child only gets one gift each. So the grandma and the parent can't come and get gifts for the same children. The day began very smoothly, all of our volunteer elves showed up and the seniors program had the coffee and food ready to go. Now our volunteers elves help our ticket holders find gifts for their children. Before they can come back to pick gifts, two of our staff members call out ticket numbers and fill out a slip for the guardian/ parent that shows how many kids, which gender and age of each child that the guardian will “shop” for. Once that is filled out an elf brings the guardian back and helps them find gifts for each child on their slip.

On Friday December 18th the Denver Inner City Parish served over 400 families and had collected 3,700 toys. In a year when even Toys for Tots is down in total toys collected, it is truly amazing to say that I was part of an agency that was able to make a difference for so many children and families at one of my favorite times of year.

Tugs at the heart strings

2009-12-29T18:46:00.000-05:00

So while I grew up it took many years to talk my dad into letting us adopt cats and eventually we moved on to dogs. Man I love my dogs and I really miss them.

One thing I have noticed since I moved to Denver is the amount of stray dogs just wandering the streets. It reminds me of being in Lima, Peru, an international city. I have no idea why there are so many here in Denver but every time I see one it pulls at my heart strings. Like a month ago when I was out walking with Meghan and we saw one almost get hit by a car in the middle of the street, or today while I was waiting for the bus for work and there was one limping around like one of its back legs was hurt. Every time I see one, doesn't matter the size or how matted their fur is, I just want to take them in and give them a hug and a bath. I guess it bothers me so much because you don't think about it being a problem here in the US.

Favorite time of year

2009-12-13T00:22:00.001-05:00

So as Christmas draws near I can't help from feeling far from home. I have settled in very nicely here in Denver and the housemates and I even bought a fake Christmas tree and some ornaments to liven up the place but it can't quite fill the gap of the traditions from home. This is my favorite time of year, all of the anticipation, the decorating, the family time and knowing what to expect. For the first time ever I wasn't home for Thanksgiving and realized that I was going to miss spending Advent Sundays at my home church of Broadstreet.

It was just yesterday during our community day that we were talking about the fact that advent hasn't always been a celebration. For a long time it was a somber time of year, a time of anticipation and uncertainty and I feel like I can connect to that. Although I am thankful for everyone here who has made this feel like a second home, it can't replace almost 25 years of tradition. I come home in just over one week and can't wait! I know that my excitement is shared by those I love who are waiting for my return but I also know how hard my transition will be when its time to say goodbye and return to my new home. I look forward to seeing all you back home and know that when I return Denver it will be to the open and welcoming arms of the new traditions and additions to my life.

So for loved ones near and far, friends new and old I wish you Happy Holidays and thank you for all of your support. Here is a toast to fond memories and new traditions waiting to be made. All my love during my favorite time of year.

Food Shortage...

2009-11-21T01:23:00.001-05:00

This week at DICP I witnessed our food bank run dry for the first time since I have been here. On Wednesday we served 120 families, with our normal Wednesday average being 30-40 this was almost triple our average. I was amazed by this number but entirely shocked.

Over the last few weeks I have been noticing an increase in the amount of people using the food bank, many of whom have cars. I attributed the increase to the holiday season, but when I mentioned my observation to our food bank manager he had an interesting explantion which I had never thought of. He told me that as many costs rise and people try to pay their bills they are more likely to use food banks, knowing that they can at least feed their family for free for a couple of days, alleviating some of the stress in their lives. So they may have a car and a place to live and to many of us they seem like people that we work with every day but in many ways are living pay check to pay check.

After serving 120 families in one day all I could think, was " I am glad that could help that many people in one day but what will we do when people show up Thursday and Friday?" As I was leaving work Thursday our building supervisor was unloading a truck and trailer full of donated food. Someone had taken care of our problem.

I found a great article talking about many issues of dealing with hunger within our country. (http://feedingamerica.org/newsroom/press-release-archive/49-million-at-risk.aspx) Check out the Feeding America website for more information.

Finding Comfort

2009-11-03T00:33:00.000-05:00

So I have been trying to find verses that are comforting no matter what is going on. Here is one I really like.

"So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring worries of it own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
Matthew 6:34 *NRSV

I would love to learn some that you find comfort from.

Reflection on Two Months as a YAV

2009-10-28T20:17:00.001-04:00

So I have been trying to figure how to really explain my experience as a YAV so far. Whenever I talk to people they are asking, "How is Denver?" "How are you doing?" "Tell me about your job." Of course my first response is "Everything is great!" Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying everything here and by no means feel like I made a mistake by deciding to become a YAV but there are certain things that I never expected to encounter. I have been spending some time this week trying to reflect on my time here so far and figure out how to use the challenges of the last two months to enhance the next two months.

Here are some of things that I have been enjoying so far:
~weekly running clubs
~Friday community days
~laundry and grocery trips with the roomies on Friday nights
~building relationships with the staff at the parish
~finding a church home at Central Presbyterian downtown
~Racine's California Chicken Sandwich (grilled chicken, 2 strips of bacon, avocados, tomatoes and spicy mayo)
~reading time on the light rail
~almost daily viewings of the mountains (as long as its clear)
~snow in October
~online tv reruns
~bread runs with Adrianne
~finding friends
~joining an indoor soccer team
~making room to recognize God's presence daily

I have been spending sometime today reading my fellow YAVer's blogs and it has been reassuring. We may not all be going through the same things but it seems that we are all going through something and are still positive and excited about our experiences.

As of Friday it will be seven weeks until Christmas and that means on Monday I will have been here for nine weeks.

Children at Church

2009-10-22T00:10:00.003-04:00

So tonight was my first "children's worship" session. The parish holds bi-monthly worship services for the community and serves dinner afterward. So when I was asked to work with the parish full-time back in September, one of the things they added to my job description was starting, planning and leading a children's worship time to coincide with regular worship.

When I was asked to take on this "new" program I was a little apprehensive but figured "What the heck? I have taught Sunday School, I will be fine." At first I had no idea where to even start. I asked Barb, back at BSPC (the Christian Education Director), for a few suggestions and she gave me some great ideas but I quickly realized that I had no budget. I also knew I wasn't going to have much freedom to follow a pre-made curriculum. Essentially I wasn't going to have Barb hand me a packet with all of the scriptures and activities for the fall classes. I also realized that I really had no idea how many or what age of kids I would even have show up.

All of these things seemed to be important and once again left me with an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. As I began to look for free resources, one fell into my lap. I was talking to one of the parish pastors and she mentioned the Parish Resource Center. The Parish Resource Center is run out of the basement of a Presbyterian church and if your agency is a member you have access to all sorts of religious resources. This is a service that DICP is a member of and I gained access to all sorts of curriculum, activity books, music, movies, and games. Even though it took me three buses and an hour to get there I was excited to find something that enabled me to use more than the free online coloring pages that I had found.

So tonight was my big night to shine. I had been planning for two weeks what we would do. Per request of the head pastor I made an outline for the night and began to prepare the wonderful activities I had put together. Two women who participate in the worship service volunteered to help out and so I knew my night would be great. I mean what could go wrong; I had my outline, my letters cut for human scrabble and the "plant your seed" activity all ready. I obviously had no idea what I was getting myself into because 5:15pm rolled around and 10 kids came down the steps screaming and my two volunteers hadn't shown up.

Needless to say the night got better and after making name tags and reading Mark 4:26-29 we started to learn "This Little Light of Mine.” Before I knew it, it was time for the kids to join their parents for the end of the service and dinner. I know now that I am going to have to recruit another one or two volunteers to help out. (One of the two did show up.) I also learned that I can't handle 10 children from the ages 2-13 all by myself.

Although we didn't make it through everything I had planned I think it went pretty well and I am looking forward to our next worship time together. We will be celebrating Dia De Los Muertos and building alters.

Long Over Due Update

2009-10-20T01:43:00.000-04:00

Since its been a while since I have updated everyone with what is going on here in Denver, I thought I would share a little bit more about the Denver Inner City Parish with all of you.

With my primary job description being the volunteer coordinator I have been spending a lot of my time trying to not only learn about DICP history but also about all of the programs that they offer to the community on the west side of Denver. Here is a basic overview of the parish:

“The Denver Inner City Parish is a nondenominational, non-profit agency dedicated for the past four decades to serving the secular and spiritual needs of West Denver's low-income community. We offer a "familia" model of support that provides holistic, "wrap-around" educational and human services, all of which help develop self-sufficiency for people of all ages.”

Currently DICP offers 11 programs (Seniors, ReNew, the Emergency Food Bank, La Academia, Night School, Puentes (Bridges), Afterschool Programs, Summer Day Camp, Summer Meal Program, Young Fathers, Worship) and does it with only about 20 people on staff. Although this means I have a lot to learn and I am sure I will face many challenges along the way I am excited about the work I have been called to do.

Seniors: The Parish Seniors program works to enhance the health, social well-being and quality of life for West Denver residents 55 years and older.

ReNew: “Project ReNew provides reintegration programs for those returning to Denver from the Department of Corrections. We work to reduce community crime by rebuilding the lives of individuals who have previously made poor choices.”

Emergency Food Bank: “The Emergency Food Bank at the Denver Inner City Parish is our longest running program and serves a strong need in the community. The clients who use our food bank range from low-income working families to homeless individuals. This past year, we have served over 1,700 different families.”

La Academia: “La Academia at the Denver Inner City Parish is a private, non-profit school located in West Denver serving 80 ninth through twelfth grade low-income students. Founded in 1971, La Academia has addressed the educational and social needs of at-risk youth..”

Night School: “Our Adult Night School assists an additional 20 students who earn their high school diploma or prepare for the G.E.D. test.”

Afterschool Program: “The Afterschool Program is relatively new and is run by the same staff member as the day camp. Many of the objectives and goals are similar to the day camp program. This program is also geared toward boys and girls ages 6-11 and pulls mainly from the elementary and middle school within close proximity to La Academia.”

Young Fathers: This program is to help young men from the ages 16-24 to learn the skills of fatherhood. It focuses on teaching how to create strong relationship between father and child and provides them with many resources that they may never have known existed.

Worship: “The Parish holds ecumenical worship services twice each month, several of which are bilingual.” For many community members this is the only service they can attend on a regular basis.
One aspect that has begun since I have started my work here is creating a Children’s Educational hour, which I will be leading up with the help of our two pastors.

I know that this is a lot of information but isn’t it amazing to see how much the DICP provides within the west side community?

I’m not sure that even a brief description of the programs does DICP justice in the work that they do in their community and as you can imagine trying to find my way within this great agency has been a challenge. I have been spending the last month meeting with our program directors as well as finding Volunteer Coordinators at other non-for-profit agencies within the city to meet and consult with. So far I have met with three wonderful women who have proven to be great resources and provided me with all sorts of reading materials and websites to look at. All of their input and advice has been a Godsend but in many ways has provided me with too much information. I have slowly been able to sift through the many resources and have found a starting point. I have made a list of things that will need to be done and am not sure of the order in which they need to be done right now but trust it will become clear as I continue muddle through.

It is these programs and the staff that run them is what makes me leave in a state of awe everyday. I know that God has brought me here to help and trust that not only will he give me patience when I worry about things I can not change but that he will also provide the strength to get me through.

If you would like any more information about any of these programs please feel to get in touch with me or check out the website (http://dicp.org/index.html).

Craziness

2009-10-06T00:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long period without an update, things have been a bit crazy over the last two weeks. For those of you who don't know, right about the time I found the YAV program I was also asked to take on a leadership role for the professional fraternity that I joined in college. Since March I have been serving as the national Leadership Conference Director, which basically means I have been in charge of my making sure every little detail is planned and executed to make the best event possible for the 70 or so people that will be in attendance. I knew when I accepted the nomination that the big push for this event would coincide with the first month of my placement here in Denver. In some ways I knew it was going to be rough but I have to admit that it hasn't been as bad as it could have been. I have a great group of committee members and the host chapter at NJIT in Newark, New Jersey has been great!

So now the planning is done, I finished all the final paperwork and now I get to relax and enjoy it. I fly to Newark on Wednesday and get to see a bunch of great friends for three days. Keep me in your prayers for a smooth weekend ahead.

My Job... (a brief introduction with much more to come)

2009-09-22T23:16:00.000-04:00

So my agency placement took quite a while to find and to be honest I wasn't really sure that it was going to be a good fit for me. It took me less than one day to realize that I am where God intended for me to be. It has now been almost two and a half weeks since I have started at the Denver Inner City Parish (DICP or the parish) and every day I am grateful and excited about the work that I will be doing over the next year.

The basic overview of my job is pretty easy to explain. I am going to be the Volunteer Coordinator for the parish. It sounds pretty straight forward and in a lot of ways it is, until I add in that this is something that over the 50 years of the DICP's existence they have never had. That being said, they have used volunteers throughout that time period and at least have a pool of people to draw from. Maybe that makes my job easier, maybe it doesn't.

I also got some very exciting news last week, my placement with the parish started out as part-time and last week they asked me if I would be willing to take it on as my full-time placement for the year. It was so great and an answer to one of the things I had been praying about quite a bit.

Just today I had another one answered.

As a part of my up in hours, comes an adjustment in duties. Starting today I will begin developing a children's program for the DICP's worship service, which meets every other week. I really wanted to work with children in some capacity this year. I just felt that after teaching Sunday school last year that it was something that I really enjoyed. If you team that up with my goal to become reacquainted with the many Bible stories that you learn as a kid I have found my outlet. There are quite a few children that attend the services and like most kids they get antsy when they have to sit too long. Steve, the DICP pastor has asked for me to take on working with the kids, teaching Bible stories and completing crafts. I know it will be a lot of work but in many ways it is what I was really looking for during this year and I didn't have to look very hard, it just fell into my lap.

God really is great.

Great Day!

2009-09-15T00:34:00.000-04:00

Monday-Sept. 14th

So I will be writing more later this week as I work on my newsletter for the Broadstreeter but I wanted to let everyone know that I had a great day today.

I had my first two meetings with two of our program directors at the parish. (I will go more into the programs provided later.) During my meetings I learned more about the history of the programs as well as the services they offer. I also began the conversations about volunteers and how they are currently being used and how the directors could see them being used in the future. I got great feedback from both and am feeling great about my placement. I really feel like this is where I am suppose to be and is the work I am suppose to be doing.

I can't wait to meet with the rest of the program directors and follow other volunteer coordinators at other agencies. I am extremely excited to begin this next phase of my life. Its almost indescribable how right I feel and have felt all day.

I just want to thank you to all who have been supporting me and thank God for leading me to this place. I can't wait to share the coming experiences with you.

Week in Review

2009-09-08T21:56:00.003-04:00

So there is a lot to catch up on and its hard to believe that I have already been away from home for two weeks. It feels like I have been in Denver for at least a month. I am going to try to keep my review short but I apologize if it gets long, like I said there is a lot to cover.

Monday-August 31st
We left Stony Point at 7am by bus for a short ride to La Guardia, at least shorter ride than the way to Stony Point. After a short flight to Baltimore and a lot of good-byes to new friends, Rachel and I grabbed a bite to eat and found our flight to Denver. Once arriving in Denver we found our luggage, Molly (our site coordinator) and our other house mate (Meghan). During our ride to our new house we found that we would be the first tenants in our four bed room duplex. After dinner, tacos Molly-style, we took a brief walk through our neighborhood, began to unpack and get to know one another.

Tuesday
Tuesday morning we woke for devotionals and what turned into a long day learning our way around the city. After a tour of the Gathering Place (www.the-gatheringplace.org), Rachel's agency, we picked up our month long public transit passes and began the downtown tour. We ate lunch at the original Rock Bottom Brewery on the 16th Street Mall, wandered through the State Building (making a stop in the cupola to take in the views of the city no mountains though), admired the beauty of the Brown Palace Hotel and located the Art Museum, YMCA and downtown Library. Molly showed us the location of the DOOR (http://www.doornetwork.org/) office and the two buildings that make up the Denver Inner City Parish (www.dicp.org), my agency. That night we learned how to make our own calzones with a homemade dough recipe of Molly's.

Side note: For the first three-ish days we could not see the mountains because of the fires in California but we relished in the fact that although we walked around the city in 90 degree weather for several hours we didn't sweat much at all.

Wednesday
We stayed in for the morning and early afternoon to get paperwork taken care of and to spend some time getting to know more about each other. During an afternoon trip to Walmart we found window treatments for all of the rooms in the house as well as trashcans. (Crazy the things you take for granted.) After home-made spaghetti sauce and pasta we headed downtown once again to watch a great Rockies game (they won!) and to see the mountains for the first time. We also had our first experience with "Denver weather." They say, if you don't like the weather wait 10 minutes and it will change.

Thursday
In the morning Molly took us on a driving tour showing us where all of our local "resources" were. Then we had members of the Denver DOOR Board and people from our agencies come over for lunch. It was a great way to meet all of the people who have been awaiting our arrival. After lunch we took naps and discussed more paperwork items and then had the special treat of "Little India" for dinner, which is Molly's favorite Indian restaurant in town.

Friday
We took some time to talk about reflection and self care and then got a tour of Meghan's agency, Metro CareRing (www.metrocarering.org). That afternoon we had a plumber show-up to take a look at our shower, which was acting more like bathtub. That evening my roommates and I took our first solo bus ride to go and enjoy the Taste of Colorado Festival.

Saturday

We awoke to find out that not only had our shower not been fixed the day before but that we were going to have to evacuate our house for the entire day while they fixed it. My roommates indulged me by allowing me to find a place to watch the first OSU game of the year. Not only did we find some place but we found the meca of places, the alumni sponsored OSU bar in Denver. I was able to watch the majority of the second half and entertain my roommates with my antics at the same time.

Side-note: The Penn State sponsored bar was located in the basement of the same building, making for a convient location for me, the OSU lover and Rachel, the PSU fan.

After the game ended and OSU won in their typical fashion we headed to the Tattered Cover, a local bookshop and then back down Taste for more of the previous day's entertainment.

Sunday

We met Molly for church and spent the day lounging preparing for our first hike in the mountains. Rachel's parents took us out to dinner during their brief stop on their way out to California and we got to act as the tour guides. Strange feeling considering we hadn't even lived here for a week yet. We showed them a wonderful time, allowing them to experience the wonderful public transportation system and a new pizza joint. They enjoyed wandering the 16th street mall as much as we still do.

Monday- September 7th

Waking up at 7am to be out the door at 7:30 is amazingly easy when you know you are going to the Rocky Mountains. We spent the whole day either traveling to/from or climbing around Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a bit crowded but it was easy to over look because of the beauty. On our way back we saw some Elk and stopped in Estes Park for ice cream. I am going to let the pictures below tell you more about our 7+ mile hike.

2009-08-30T17:59:00.003-04:00

A little request...

2009-08-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

I wanted to update you a bit about what is going on. We are all having a great time here in Stony Point and in all there are just under 70 YAV's who are getting ready to go out to our sites across the country and the globe. We have been learning about a variety of topics from Globalization to Race and Gender and everything in between. It has been a great week, with a lot of information and has helped all of us create another community to receive support from as we begin this journey.

I am writing this morning to ask that you keep us in your prayers as we all depart on Monday and head to the communities in which we will be serving for the next year.

Exciting News!!

2009-08-27T18:52:00.003-04:00

Just an update the Denver site finally has a house!! We will be just north of the city...more details to come!

What I'm doing...

2009-08-23T20:17:00.003-04:00

So I realized that I haven't really written anything about what journey I am beginning. Here is a copy of my Minute for Mission that I gave at my church. Hopefully this will clear up any questions you might have about this next phase of my life.

My name is Hilary Engelhart. I am here today to talk to you about an opportunity I’m about to embark on offered through the Presbyterian Church (USA). Before I go into the details of this opportunity it is important for you to know a little bit more about me. I was born and raised here in Columbus and grew up within the walls of this church. Growing up I was involved in all sorts of activities, but being an active member of the church as a youth was one of the most life transforming experiences to date. As a child I participated in children’s camp, was a member of the children’s choir and a member of the fellowship groups. These childhood activities later transformed into counselor positions, youth retreats and being a yearly member of mission trips. I am not sure that I could tell you the number of events that I participated in but it was the mission trips that really changed how I looked at the world. I traveled to Allentown, PA several times as jr. high and as a sr. high was part of Peru Crew 1 and 2 as well as traveling to rural West Virginia for a trip or two. Despite all of this, it wasn’t until I went away to college that I realized the impact these activities had left on my life.

I graduated in 2008 from the University of Cincinnati and in the months since then, while pursuing my career, I have been pulled in another direction, one that goes back to my roots, one to help those in need. I can look back over the last year and see the signs that have brought me to where I am today. It started with an interest in working with the children of Broadstreet by teaching 2nd and 3rd graders and working with that fellowship group. The second piece of the puzzle happened one Sunday morning in lent during a sermon about “throwing deep.” I left church that day with a feeling that I had something more to give. After looking into ways to get involved in mission trip like programs, I found the Young Adult Volunteer program offered through P.C. (USA).

With the support of Broadstreet’s session and the congregation, I was accepted as a YAV, or Young Adult Volunteer. This program was created by the General Assembly in 1994 with the idea to provide opportunities for “young adults between the ages of 19-30 to share their gifts” with those in need. For the next 11 months I will live in an “intentional community of learning and service with a focus on my faith and faith as it exists within the global church.”

In May, I found my placement with the Denver site and since then have been working with my site coordinator to find the agencies in which I will work with for the next 11 months. One of those will be the Denver Inner City Parrish, where I will be working as a Volunteer Coordinator and setting up their Volunteer Database. I will be leaving on August 24th for a week of orientation and training and then heading to Denver with two other YAVs to begin our work there.

I want to thank everyone for their support. I know that without all of you, and the experiences I was able to take part in here at Broadstreet, that I would never have been able to begin this journey.

Last Day in Columbus

2009-08-23T20:08:00.002-04:00

So today is the last full day that I will be in Columbus for several months. I went to church this morning to say good-bye to Ann and Amy and then hurried home to help prepare for the large going away party this afternoon.

Yesterday we spent the day cooking, cleaning and I did the last of the laundry and packing for the trip. Today we had family and neighbors and some great friends stop by to help send me off in the only way my family knows how to, with a big bang!

I had a great time playing croquet, learning about crazy people jumping out of hospital windows, how to catch, skin, kill and fillet a fish and just enjoying the company. In some ways I can't believe that I am leaving tomorrow. Once I get out to New York the pictures will commence and hopefully so will the posting of them.

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and I hope that you will all enjoy reading this blog about my YAV year.

Less than a month

2009-08-06T11:42:00.003-04:00

So this week I found out more about the second girl, Meghan. So many Meghan's in my life. The three of us have been emailing in back a forth some and I think that we all are very excited to start this new phase of our lives. I am going to be the oldest member of our house, which I expected but isn't a bad thing.

I have also found out that one of the two organizations that I will be working with is the Denver Inner City Parrish. I will be a volunteer coordinator for them and will be helping to setup a volunteer database for them.

I guess that is all for now. I will sending out a first round of thank-you notes today because at this point I am a quarter of the way to my fundraising goal. Thank you to all who have contributed so far.

Still the beginning...

2009-07-08T23:13:00.002-04:00

So I don't know which organizations I am going to be volunteering with but I have finally been introduced to one of the girls that I will be living with. Her name is Rachel and ironically she is from Cincinnati. Its such a small world. I guess we will have plenty to talk about. (I hope that the other girl doesn't feel left.)