Yay for days off! There will not be many this summer so I am sure they will be treasured! Yesterday was our last day of training and the groups get here tomorrow. I am so excited for the groups to start coming. My first group is a junior high youth group and this is their first time with CSM so it should be a lot of fun!! I am co-hosting with Jessie so that will take some of the pressure off.
This week was pretty great. We finished up visiting all the ministry sites we are going to be at this summer. We went to the boys and girls club. They are one of our anchor sites which means we will be going there every day either in the morning or afternoon. So, I am pretty excited about that! We send the kids out on a thing called night exposure while they are here and we did it as a staff this week. We give them $5 each and they have to ride the bus downtown and back home at the end of it. The bus ride there and back cost $3 so then they have to find somewhere to eat for only $2. We mark off boundaries so they cannot go to any fast food places. Usually they are in groups of two or three so they can put their money together if they think about and we do not give them idea of course! While they are downtown, they have find a place they would sleep if they really were homeless. Then they have to lay down in that place for 5 to 10 minutes to get a feel for what it is like to sleep on the streets. It was pretty powerful to do and a huge wake up call for how oblivious people are of their surroundings. Of course, we did not look the part because we still had our clean clothes on and we were clean so we could pretty much walk anywhere but it was really eye opening to see how hard it was if you were not in a group and did not have anyone with you to combine your money.
It really made me excited for this summer. We get to share this experience with these kids and show them how people in America are struggling. Well, I hope everyone is doing great. I miss y'all so much!!
In Him, Breanne
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Week One
Well, its hard to believe we have finished a week of training. Tomorrow is pretty much just driving around the city to learn it or get lost in it!! Today was a crazy day! We went to six ministry sites. We went to Family Life Center which is a shelter for women and children. We also went to Feed The Children which was so awesome to see the "behind the scenes" of that organization. We went to Welcome Home. It is a homeless shelter for men who mostly have come from prison. It is more of a halfway house for them to come for a year to be reintroduced to society. YCAP was of course the one that is near and dear to my heart!! It is a summer program through YMCA for inner city kids. We will be going there every week! We also went to Nashville Cares. It is an organization that offers so many services that surround the issues of HIV. It is an incredible organization. If you have time, you should look it up on the internet. I dont know the website but just google Nashville Cares. It is going to be one of my favorites as well. They do so much for this community.
The last place we went today was the Salvation Army. Every Friday, Salvation Army takes a mobile feeding ministry to a place in Nashville under a bridge and serves supper out the back of the bus. They also serve breakfast at a different location on Tuesday mornings. We went with them tonight to help out. It was incredible. We went down under the bridge to just hang out with the people and talk to them. They have some pretty moving stories and it was a very humbling experience tonight.
It already blows my mind how we overlook these people that are in need of someone that will love on them and finally give them a break. So many times we get so caught up in our own world, that we cant take the blinders off long enough to see the hurt in our own backyard. Another site we went to yesterday was Isaiah 58 which is another feeding ministry. They also have their own bus and as I was sitting with some guys yesterday and we were talking, it was almost overwhelming to be there. One of the guys I was talking to was only 24 and he had been on the streets for 2 years. It was very eye opening to talk to someone my age. God really showed me yesterday that these are sons, daughters, moms, dads, grandparents, etc. More importantly, these are His children that have been forgotten.
Thank you so much for the prayers so far!! We are going to need them for sure and I dont know if I can stress that enough!! I love yall so much.
In Him, Breanne
The last place we went today was the Salvation Army. Every Friday, Salvation Army takes a mobile feeding ministry to a place in Nashville under a bridge and serves supper out the back of the bus. They also serve breakfast at a different location on Tuesday mornings. We went with them tonight to help out. It was incredible. We went down under the bridge to just hang out with the people and talk to them. They have some pretty moving stories and it was a very humbling experience tonight.
It already blows my mind how we overlook these people that are in need of someone that will love on them and finally give them a break. So many times we get so caught up in our own world, that we cant take the blinders off long enough to see the hurt in our own backyard. Another site we went to yesterday was Isaiah 58 which is another feeding ministry. They also have their own bus and as I was sitting with some guys yesterday and we were talking, it was almost overwhelming to be there. One of the guys I was talking to was only 24 and he had been on the streets for 2 years. It was very eye opening to talk to someone my age. God really showed me yesterday that these are sons, daughters, moms, dads, grandparents, etc. More importantly, these are His children that have been forgotten.
Thank you so much for the prayers so far!! We are going to need them for sure and I dont know if I can stress that enough!! I love yall so much.
In Him, Breanne
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hello Nashville!!!
Today is day two of being in Nashville for the summer. Things are going pretty great so far. There are eight of us working this summer and that is including the director and assistant director. Everyone is from different states for the most part so getting to know everyone has been a lot of fun because I love meeting new people!! It has only been two days but I already love Nashville which I kind of thought would happen!! There is so much culture and diversity here. Its pretty amazing.
We are in staff training right now so we dont have any groups until the first of June. Today we did our prayer tour. It is a two hour tour of the city. We go to different places throughout the city just to get a better feel of the needs of the people and also just to learn more about where we are going to be living for the summer. We get out at certain areas and pray over the city. We take our groups on the tour at the beginning of each week. It is by far one of my favorite parts of everything that we do! Well, I just wanted to start filling everyone in on what has started happening. Please pray for us this summer. It is going to be a very busy and exhausting summer but God is going to be doing some pretty great things!! Pray that we have patience with each other and also our groups. I love yall!!!
In Him,
Breanne
Also, if you want to pray for each of the staff by name, that would be awesome!! Its Jessie, Mary Margaret, Joy, Patrick, Jimmy, and me. Our director is Jes and assistant director is Kristen.
We are in staff training right now so we dont have any groups until the first of June. Today we did our prayer tour. It is a two hour tour of the city. We go to different places throughout the city just to get a better feel of the needs of the people and also just to learn more about where we are going to be living for the summer. We get out at certain areas and pray over the city. We take our groups on the tour at the beginning of each week. It is by far one of my favorite parts of everything that we do! Well, I just wanted to start filling everyone in on what has started happening. Please pray for us this summer. It is going to be a very busy and exhausting summer but God is going to be doing some pretty great things!! Pray that we have patience with each other and also our groups. I love yall!!!
In Him,
Breanne
Also, if you want to pray for each of the staff by name, that would be awesome!! Its Jessie, Mary Margaret, Joy, Patrick, Jimmy, and me. Our director is Jes and assistant director is Kristen.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Remembering
I cant believe that it has been a year today since the shooting at VA Tech. Where does the time go? I know that we are not supposed to dwell on things but how quickly we forget the tragic events of that day. It is so easy to go back to a normal life when you are not directly effected. Did we learn anything from that day? I read all these articles about how we need to have better security on college campuses or more gun control. Those issues probably need to be addressed but I honestly think the real issue is that these people need Jesus. There is so much hatred in this world today. There are many people who condemn people to hell and say they deserve it but the fact is that we all deserve it. If we truly could grasp the concept of how horrible of a place hell really is, I think our outlook on non Christians would be totally different.
I had a conversation with a friend the other day about finding it hard to think about not believing in God because it has always been a part of my life. No wonder there is so much despair and depression in our nation. I could not imagine not believing that God is truly in control and He does see the bigger picture. Christians are so quick to judge and point out the sin in people's life, that they miss the fact that most people just need someone that will love them. They need someone to show them the grace and mercy that God showed us the day He sent Jesus to die for us. We act like we deserve our salvation and that we did something to earn it. God's intent was not for us to become arrogant and proud. If anything, we should be humbled at His feet daily.
I want my life to be different. I want people to see God in my actions and not just my words. I want to see the pain of this world through His eyes. I want to love people the way Jesus loved them. I think that if that is our pray as a body of believers, we will begin to truly care about people. We will actually pray for them when we tell them that we will. It is not just something we say. I want to stand out but not in an arrogant way. I want people to see that even when things are so crazy in my life or things are going so bad, that I still have the joy of the Lord in my heart. My prayer is that we do not forgot this day. I pray that we begin to make a difference in our Nation by standing up for what we believe in. I pray that the negativity that comes along with the word "Christian" would begin to wiped away with our generation!
I had a conversation with a friend the other day about finding it hard to think about not believing in God because it has always been a part of my life. No wonder there is so much despair and depression in our nation. I could not imagine not believing that God is truly in control and He does see the bigger picture. Christians are so quick to judge and point out the sin in people's life, that they miss the fact that most people just need someone that will love them. They need someone to show them the grace and mercy that God showed us the day He sent Jesus to die for us. We act like we deserve our salvation and that we did something to earn it. God's intent was not for us to become arrogant and proud. If anything, we should be humbled at His feet daily.
I want my life to be different. I want people to see God in my actions and not just my words. I want to see the pain of this world through His eyes. I want to love people the way Jesus loved them. I think that if that is our pray as a body of believers, we will begin to truly care about people. We will actually pray for them when we tell them that we will. It is not just something we say. I want to stand out but not in an arrogant way. I want people to see that even when things are so crazy in my life or things are going so bad, that I still have the joy of the Lord in my heart. My prayer is that we do not forgot this day. I pray that we begin to make a difference in our Nation by standing up for what we believe in. I pray that the negativity that comes along with the word "Christian" would begin to wiped away with our generation!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Things Change
Another chapter in my life is about to close. College is coming to an end and I have mixed emotions. I am so excited to see what God has planned for the next step but the fear of the unknown also sets in!! Do I even know what to do with myself when I do not have to go to school?!? It will be nice to not have class anymore! I decided to start this blog for two reasons. The main reason was because I am pretty horrible about writing in a journal and I use the internet pretty much every day so this would be the easiest way to begin recording the new phases of my life! The second reason was so I could share these new experiences with my friends and family! As most know, I got the CSM job in Nashville. So, I am sure that will be what most blogs are about this summer. I am so excited about it. It will be a very busy summer and a growing time. I am anxious to see how God uses me and becomes even more real to me! Well, this post will be short but there will be many, many more to come!!
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