First, let me start by giving another financial update. I am
now at $3,325 of my $6,500. Thank you so much to those who have given already.
If you would like to donate, or know more about what I’m doing this year, feel
free to send me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Here it is the end of my Chicago orientation and I feel like
I need to process a lot. We have had so much to take in over the past two
weeks. We had a full week of orientation in Stony Point, NY and then a week of
orientation here in Chicago.
Last week’s orientation was great! There was a lot of useful
information given to us. At the same time, there were a lot of emotional
struggles that came up during the week; things I had thought I had dealt with
from my past resurfaced. I was not at all prepared for that. I am so thankful
for the new friends I made and the staff that was there. Without them I’m not
sure how I would have handled myself or what I would have done. The Lord worked
in my life in so many ways. The worship services were a huge blessing every night.
We were all there for the same reasons and with the same goal in mind and this
is what bonded us together. From the time I set foot on the grounds of The
Stony Point Center, I knew, and could feel it was a safe space, a place where I
could be myself, no one would judge me, and a place where I immediately felt
love.
This week has been a very long one as well. We’ve been asked
the same questions many, many times. We’ve met so many new people. We started
this week with a crash course in the grid system of Chicago. Then Tuesday
afternoon we were given a list of addresses we had to find and explore. It was
great. My group only had to ask for directions once, and even then we really
didn’t ask for directions. Here’s that story. So, we had to find a library, and
if we were able get a library card we were supposed to do that. We were heading
in the right direction, but we weren’t too sure so we pulled out our handy
dandy map. Yeah, that didn’t make us look lost at all. A nice young lady
pushing a stroller stopped and asked if we needed help. I said that we were new
to the city and we were supposed to be finding a library. She told us that’s
exactly where she was going, but that it was the big brick building almost
directly in front of us. Wednesday is when we started visiting our placements.
It’s nice to see where everyone will be working and what they will be doing.
There was just so much to take in all at once. I felt like sensory overload was
taking place today. I am so ready for free time tomorrow. I’ll take lots of
pictures and get out there and explore!
One thing I am going to miss this time of year is all the
small town festivals and fun stuff like that. It’s been tradition for my family
to go to the Sweetcorn Festival in Hoopeston, IL. I’m not sure the last time
that I missed it. From what I’ve seen, it’s supposed to rain down there this weekend,
so maybe it’s ok that I’m not going to be there. Watching a parade in the rain
isn’t my idea of fun. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself tomorrow. I’m
sure I’ll find something fun to do. I may venture out to Jazz Fest which is
going on this weekend. We’ll see…
Well, it’s getting late (it’s 11:02pm) and I’m wiped out! I
must be getting old! Not really, just a lot to take in this week. So, I’m
signing off for now. I’ll be sure to take pictures and share some of my
experiences about venturing out into the city solo. I’m sure there will be some
funny stories about taking wrong turns, getting off at the wrong L stop.
Thank you all for your prayers! I love you and miss you!
James
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