What a great weekend...

What a great weekend I had! It started off a little crazy, but ended up being wonderful. Here's the break down...

Friday- When I say it started off a little crazy, that's what I mean. Friday morning I went to a Behavior Management training. While my co-workers and I were in the training, my boss showed me a text message that she received. It said something about a hostage situation at the Bank of America that was close to Branches. The message was from someone who works in the church building where Branches is located. He said that they had been on lock down for several hours already because of this hostage situation.
Well, after our training we started making calls to the church. One of the church staff said that there was now, potentially a bomb threat! So, we made a few more calls, and no one could confirm that. We decided that it was not a safe place to be for the afternoon in case something did happen. Better safe than sorry! If you did not hear about that situation, look it up on the internet. It was pretty scary, and very close to our building. (I'm sure you can imagine what my mom said when I told her this story! Something along the lines of "pack your bags you're coming home." Ha ha.)
Even though we cancelled Branches, I still worked for a little while in the afternoon. I did however, get off work early. So it was nice to have a little bit of a break. When I got home, I got ready for dinner. I had a few friends from Kentucky come to visit their son who lives in the Keys. They were flying out of Ft. Lauderdale, so they decided that they would swing past Miami, and come pick me up for dinner. It was really wonderful to see them! A little taste of home. We went to Dan Marino's where I had Nut Crusted Mahi, with garlic mashed potatoes, and asparagus. Man, I really hated that...ha ha. After dinner I went home and hung out with the roommates.
Saturday morning I woke up pretty early to make a run to get a box of food that I bought from Angel Food Ministries. This is an organization that makes it easier for people to receive food for cheaper prices than you would find at the grocery store. I bought all sorts of goodies- chicken breasts, ground beef, rice, bean and cheese burritos, hot dogs, beans, and much more. I know I saved myself at least 10-15 dollars by purchasing the food through this organization. After picking that up, one of my roommates took me to the grocery so that we could buy food for the house warming party we were having. We mostly bought drinks since we had already started preparing the other snacks and finger foods for the day.
When we got back to the house, one of my roommates (who is currently in culinary school) started making the snacks, while the rest of us cleaned up the house. It took forever to clean that house! It was filthy, and in desperate need of a deep cleaning. And that is what we did. We vacuumed, and swept, and dusted, and everything else you can imagine. But when it was all said and done, it look absolutely amazing!

By 2:00pm, guests started showing up. I was still not ready because I was busy cleaning and making crab stuffed mushrooms(delicious, thanks to Ms. Ashley Graves.) It seemed like everyone loved all of the food that was made. We had benedictine sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches, chips and salsa, puppy chow (which I made), and other snacks. We played Jenga, listened to music, and in general enjoyed the time spent just sitting and talking with others. Overall, it was a successful and entertaining party. I just wished that my friends and family from back home had been there to see my house, meet my roommates, and eat my food. But, that's life. Since everyone cannot meet my roommates, here is a picture of all of us from Saturday. From left to right; Trey (from Texas, he's also the one in culinary school), Me, Andre (from Louisiana, and is a YAV like me), Matt (from Alabama, speaks Spanish fluently), and Gavin (originally from Jamaica, but has been living in Miami most of his life). That is a brief description of all of my roommates. And yes, I am living with all guys, but do not fear! I have my own room and my own bathroom. And I have a lot of fun living with these guys. They are all very entertaining and interesting in their own ways.

On Sunday, we went to Wesley United Methodist Church. This is the church who owns the house where we live. We went to the Spanish service, which was of course a little bit of trouble, considering the fact that I don't speak Spanish. Luckily though, they gave us headphones so that a woman could translate for us. It was a really nice service with great music! A mix of contemporary and traditional. Afterwards we were invited to stay for lunch. We had Cuban food, which consisted of pork, rice and beans, and plantains. It was delicious, and even more so because of the fact that it was free!

Sunday night was the Lighthouse service as usual. This is one of the only times when our whole group can be together, so we really enjoy Sunday night. Gavin plays the drums for the band. The service is always great; amazing music, and good preaching. It is a service mostly geared toward young adults, although people of all ages attend. There is time afterwards to eat cookies, have drinks, and meet the others that attend the service. Going to this service has become a habit of our group, and I only hope that it will continue. I find myself needing Sunday night. I love the community, the music, and the message. It helps me to get through the week.

And that was my weekend! 

Night of Joy

        Two Saturdays ago was Disney’s Night of Joy. This is a night when several of the biggest names in contemporary Christian music come to Disney World to showcase their songs to thousands of teens and children. Branches South Miami took 11 of our youth to see several of the concerts, as well as ride some of the rides. This night was extremely special to me. I was able to listen to a Christian rapper by the name of LeCrae. We took several of our kids to hear him. In between all of his songs he basically gave a mini-sermon. There were two messages that really hit home for me. The first one was something he said that went along the lines of this; “to all the teachers, youth ministers, or anyone who works with kids. Just have faith that the work you’re doing is not in vain. I was a knucklehead once, doing all the wrong things. I had several people who kept on me, and kept working with me. So just know that you may never see the fruits of your labor, but that somewhere along the line, you may touch a young person’s life, and they will never be the same.” Boy, was that a message especially for me! I have been struggling the past month since I’ve been here. I work with some rough kids! They often talk back to me, get an attitude with me, and in general just misbehave. And sometimes I think, “are they ever going to get the message?” It was a great reminder that I may never see if I’ve touched a kid’s life. I may never see the impact that I have made in a child’s life, but if I keep working with them, and loving them, maybe one day they will see how important it is to behave, and respect others, and live as Jesus taught us.

            While some of the kids could’ve cared less about the concert or what LeCrae had to say, others loved him. One of the kids was so into it, that he asked if he could move up to the front of the crowd to see him and listen to him. I was so touched that some of the kids were actually listening to his message. And what a great example LeCrae was to these kids. He claimed that he was never perfect, and that he had done some really horrible things in his life, but through God, he changed his life, and actually started living a life that was centered around Jesus. It was a great example for the kids to see that no one is perfect, but that God has a power to transform our lives for the better.

            The second message that really hit home for me was the message about our image through the eyes of God. LeCrae said that women especially struggle with the idea of our image. Everyone of course struggles with their image, but he was especially speaking to the women in the crowd. He said that a lot of times, our culture focuses solely on how we look, and what kind of car we drive, and what kinds of expensive things we buy. But he reminded us that all of that stuff does not matter to God. It doesn’t matter whether you are a size two or twelve, God does not care! God cares about what is on the inside, and what kind of heart you possess.

            Most of the time I try not to worry about what size I am. But that is extremely difficult when all of the images that we see around us, are of women who are extremely too thin and sick-looking. Or when the “plus size models” are considered to be sizes six and eight. How can a woman not feel the pressure to be thin and beautiful? But LeCrae reminded me that I don’t need to be concerned with these worldly things. Being a certain size is not what God cares about. God cares about the way we treat each other, and the way we live our lives as Christians. God thinks each and everyone of us is beautiful no matter what size we are, or how we look, or what kinds of material things we have. I am beautiful in the eyes of God! How refreshing is that?

            Overall, it was a wonderful day to be at Disney, to enjoy the rides, and the music. I can only hope that some of the kids received God’s message, and that someday their lives can be transformed for the better.

If you have not checked out LeCrae, please do. If all rap was like his, the world would be a different place.

Second Day on the Job...

Dear Readers,


I have been in Miami for about a month now, and this is my first blog entry. Pretty sad. I have been extremely busy, which is not a lie. For the first two weeks I had very limited access to the internet, which made it difficult to actually set up a blog. The next two weeks...well, let's face it, I was just plain lazy. There is plenty to write about, but this entry is strictly dedicated to the experience I had on the second day of work.

There is a favorite game that many children love to play. I myself loved this game when I was a child. It's called Capture the Flag. The kids at Branches South Miami (which is where I work) love to play this game. So, the second day on the job, we decided that we were going to play it. There is a lot of supervision that is needed for this game especially when you work in an urban neighborhood. There are too many cars, too many people, and too many things that can go wrong if you are not paying attention. On this day, I was supervising one area close to the road. As I was standing there, a man started walking up the sidewalk close to where the kids were playing. One of my girls said "Ms. Molly don't talk to him, he's crazy." Well of course I didn't really think anything of it. I was just minding my own business, supervising the kids. I watched this man walk up the sidewalk and with his umbrella, hit one girl, and then the next. He didn't hit them hard but his intentions were obvious. As I walked up to say something to him, he turned around and started yelling profanities at the kids. I told him that he could not talk to the children that way. He of course started to approach me and yell at me. I have to say, at that moment, I was definitely shaking inside. I was certain he was going to start hitting me, or even worse, one of my kids. At that moment though, the pastor of the church (where Branches is located) came walking around the corner. She told the man that he needed to go inside and leave us alone. She was most definitely, an angel in disguise.

I was scared for my safety as well as the safety of my kids. But most of all, I felt horrible because those kids did not deserve the physical and verbal assault that they received. Some of them didn't understand that this man had serious problems. As a ten year old, it doesn't matter if you know someone is crazy or not, you are still hurt by the fact that they hit you, and then called you an “f****** animal.”

I just kept thinking, if this is any kind of indication of what the year is going to be like…I am going to need more prayer and help than I thought! At YAV training, everyone said that you can tell yourself to be prepared for the unexpected, but that there will still be a lot that you never even thought to prepare for. Boy, they were not kidding when they said that!

So…that is what the second day on the job was like for me. I guess things can only get better from this point…or at least I hope!