July 6-12, I'm so behind!

Hay friends! Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this, things have gotten insanely busy and I'm preparing for this whirlwind of an amazing adventure to unfortunately come to an end. I don't think I'm ready for all of that, and I have about 3 weeks to update you on, so I'll just worry about the past before thinking too hard about how soon I am leaving. So two weeks ago (July 6-12) we had a group of 79 which we all hosted together. They were all senior high (and some adults) from Grand Rapids Michigan, and they were PHENOMENAL!! I'm going to try to keep this brief because I have so much to say, so bear with me if the details are slim.

Sunday July 6:
We started off the week at Taste of India, and William and I rode in the mini bus together--our first time really working together. Things went especially well at dinner, and also during the prayer tour, which he navigated and I did the dialogue for. The kids and adults really seemed to enjoy it and to learn a lot about the city, which is certainly the goal for the tour. William and I also did lights out together, and since we're both such sticklers about the whole thing that went really well too.

Monday July 7:
Cade Vice is 8, and that makes me feel especially old:) But that's just a side note! We started off the morning making beds at Central Union Mission, a men's homeless shelter and rehab program that I've mentioned working at several times before. We also cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, literally scrubbed everything, and packed food bags to give out to the people coming in to worship. After that we had a tour of the mission where we met the pastor who runs the whole show, which was an amazing thing to see. He had an awesome story and an awesome vision for the mission which he implemented, and told us the details to how that worked out. We continued the day by going to lunch at Anacostia Park to stage for VBS and take a little break before starting it. I went back to Stoddard for VBS (the site I was at last week) and was VERY excited to see my favorite little boy Tajuan from the week before!! My VBS is team is the red team (the giant group is split into 3 smaller ones: red, white, and blue for VBS) and Katie and I are hosting them together. We had our usual dinner at Wok and Roll Chinese, and headed to the National Cathedral to debrief and end out the night. I'm getting a little homesick so I talked to my Dad and I really think he is planning a visit for the weekend!! We will see!

Tuesday July 8 2008:
The morning began at Food and Friends and I did deliveries with some great kids and a chaperone named Gail. The deliveries went smoothly and Gail treated us all to some Dunkin Donuts afterwards! FANTASTIC! Also I got an incredible surprise which proved the Lord is sovereign when I got back to Food and Friends and there was a youth group from Athens, GA there! I caused quite a scene when I heard they were from Athens, but it was so great to see them! It was just the little taste of home that I so desperately needed. I got the youth leader's card so I am going to email them and hopefully visit their church when I get back to school this fall!! Praise the Lord for providing me with that tiny piece of home that I needed! We were back at Anacostia Park at lunch, which has become a favorite napping spot for me and the other hosts, so we slept there on the concrete until VBS time:) VBS was much smoother today and a lot more organized, which made me, Pastor Terry (the lady in charge of it all), and the kids a lot happier. We headed to Ben's Chili Bowl for dinner, and one of their awesome male leaders bought all of us hosts Ben's famous milkshakes! They're really going to spoil us this week, I think. We debriefed for a short period at Rock Creek Park, and I really think the red team is starting to see what this is really all about. I'm praying that their eyes will continue to be opened throughout the rest of the week, because most of the things they'll be seeing are things they've never experienced before. I talked to my dad and he and Aunt April are for sure coming (YAY!) so I won't be homesick at all after the weekend!

Wednesday July 9 2008:
Hump Day! This morning Noel, CSM's president, arrived to check out how things are going and to meet with all of us on staff. My group and I went to work at Vision DC and basically did a lot of small, busy jobs. We cut fabric for distribution and also organized boxes. During all of that Noel stopped in to meet with me, and was most concerned with my future plans rather than what is going on now...unfortunately I don't know much about what those future plans are. We had lunch and a nap at the park again, which I am beginning to fall in love with. I'll miss my cat naps when I have to go back to the real world! The group introduced face paints at VBS, but the kids somehow turned them into full body paints instead:) I had paint EVERYWHERE and I'll have pictures to show you all of this when I get home...I was quite a disaster! I also managed to get paint on my red pants:( but it was ok, because the kids were happy. I don't wear them all that much anyway. We had dinner at Union Station which was a great break mid-week. Then, we all went over to the Jefferson Memorial and had debriefing. The red team is really getting it!! We had 3 kids who cried and couldn't even finish the stories they were telling because they felt so impacted. These guys are wonderful, and more importantly God is wonderful for helping them to see, feel, and learn all that they are doing! On a lighter note, on the way home I participated in my first Chinese Fire Drill! Not very safe, I know, but we were just in a small van rather than a mini bus so that made it at least a little better, right? Regardless it was a blast, and I absolutely love this group!!

Thursday July 10 2008:
5:00 am I woke up!! AHHHH! I had to work the 6:30am breakfast shift at S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat) and I have to say it was quite an experience!! Since I had to step back and let the kids do the serving, I just worked on refilling cups and cleaning in the womens dining area. I met this lady who looked a bit more like something out of a movie than someone in real life, though she was really entertaining to talk to. She told me that people who rode bikes were going to get shot in the head by guns from the sky, and that America had been warned but had done nothing about it. She asked how I felt about Iraq, Israel, and Afghanistan, but immediately turned to night club talk when I started talking. She asked where I went to church and when I told her I had visited a number of places since I'd been here she told me to tell whoever was trying to church me that it wasn't who I am. I told her that it was, and she got mad, said "whatever" and left. She was intriguing, but quite unsettling I thought. After leaving SOME we went to Downtown Cluster (an geriatric daycare facility for those living with alzheimers) and worked with some of the programs going on there. The kids in our group sang songs, played piano, and led games with the adults in the program. It was wonderful! They did such a good job! While that was happening I went for a meeting with Jason which was pretty uneventful, and then to Starbucks with Kristyn, one of the other hosts who was there with me. We had our usual lunch at Anacostia Park then, and of course, another nap:) At VBS there was more body painting, and though it isn't the most fun I've had in awhile, it was pretty enjoyable to see their faces light up. We had dinner at Mid-Atlantic Seafood, then a debrief at the Lincoln where we all shared experiences in which we had seen Christ's love today. It was awesome. Also, Dad and Aunt April are on their way!! I can't even believe it!

Friday July 11 2008:
Today is perhaps the most special day of my 2008, even more so than my 21st birthday...today is the day that I have been free from Chris's hold for one whole year! I have come so far and feel so blessed, I can hardly believe the point that I was at just one short year ago today. What a great God we serve who was able to pull me from the darkest points imaginable to the place that I am today! How can I not praise Him for all that He has done since? And even for the lessons He taught me during the year that I was with Chris. PRAISE THE LORD!!:) That's another story for another day, though, so I'll continue with my daily events. I did a Food and Friends delivery route with another of the amazing leaders from the group, Linda, whom I've gotten close to as the week has progressed. She took me out to lunch at Rex's sub shop across the street, and also to 7-11 because they give out free slurpees on July 11th! We took pictures to document this as my first experience there. I love Linda:) Today has already started out great, and I feel sure that it will only get better. We had lunch at Anacostia Park, and Dad and Aunt April met us there!! It was SO GOOD to see them!!! We hung out and talked until it was time for us to go to VBS and I can't wait to hang out with them again!! I can't believe they're here with me! VBS was a sort of field day where we just played games, and then gave the kids popsicles for snack. They loved it of course! I also spent a great deal of time with Mary, one of the volunteers with Kids Konnection (they run the VBS each week) and I'm glad that she has finally opened up enough to talk to Katie and I. I hope she continues to do so, because I feel like sometimes all she needs is a little coaxing and she'll come outside of her shell and be an awesome person to get to know. We had dinner at Pollo Granjero, and then headed to the Basilica for our final debrief. I love my red team!! We all talked about the week, had several criers, and I must admit I was one myself. How could I not cry on a wonderful day like today though? I love these kids and I am really going to miss them. They gave us cards and Maggie Moos giftcards at the end of the debrief too, to show their appreciation for all of our help. I was so touched! They really are going to spoil us though:) As the other groups were heading back to their buses the red team (myself included) snuck from above and bombed them with water balloons too! It was so much fun!! I love being included in the groups and doing fun things like that!! On the way home I led a dance party on our minibus because they were playing Hannah Montana music so I just had to:) We also did a giant Chinese Fire Drill and managed to successfully get 23 people out of a bus and back on it with time to spare! The red team=rock stars! I love these guys!! When we got back to Star my INCREDIBLE fellow hosts gave me sunflowers to commemorate the occasion of being without Chris for a whole year! That meant so much, they'll never even realize!! It's so nice to have friends like these who are so supportive and so loving regardless of the situation and those that I know, regardless of how far apart we may be, will ALWAYS be there for me. So if you guys read this (which I don't know if you will or not) I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and couldn't feel more blessed at this moment (even as I'm writing this 2 weeks later) On a much sadder note, however, I also received a call saying that Nanny had been admitted to hospital with a blood clot in her lung. She is ok now, but at the time I was very frantic, and again thankful for my supportive new friends. Please keep her in your prayers! We got our evaluations from the group as well, and they were all good, especially the one that said "give Hannah a raise!":) Overall it was a great day, and at the end of it I feel hardly anything but blessed. How great is our God!

Saturday July 12 2008:
I said goodbye to my group (SO SAD!) early and headed off with Dad and Aunt April. We went to Ben's for breakfast and it was SO good! I had only had their lunch/supper meals so I was glad for the change and to see that breakfast is so great. We walked around some of the monuments for awhile afterwards, and I was glad that I could be with Dad and Aunt April on their first trip here. I also got to show off some of my knowledge of the city, and that was pretty fun too. We went shopping at H&M and bought some teacher clothes, and I took them to Potbelly, a sandwich place similar to Quiznos. We wanted to do some more shopping afterwards so we took the Metro (basically a subway) to Georgetown to shop. By the end of all that though we were exhausted, so we weren't there very long before hailing a cab (also a fun, new experience) back to our car, and then going back to the hotel for a much needed nap. We got ready and dressed up for a nice dinner in Maryland, then headed to Target, and back to the hotel for bed. It was nice to spread out on a nice comfy bed and take a shower with no shoes, but I have to say I'd prefer Star to that hotel any day. It's crazy when you realize that sharing a small area in a church with 7 other people has become home:) Dad and Aunt April could hardly believe the area that I was living in and the conditions of Star, but they still seemed to understand why I felt so happy and at home here. I talked to Granny and PawPaw too, Granny of course thought I should just come on home (because the Lord would understand, she said), but I can't just walk away from this...not yet. Home is comfortable, but comfortable isn't always good, and I can't bear to leave here yet. Talking to them is always entertaining though, of course, so I enjoyed it even though I want to stay. It was another fantastic day, but I definitely passed out when my head hit the pillow. I think I could stay in DC as long as I could get visitors from home!:)

So that's it for the week! More to come later, but this typing is kind of exhausting too, and I really just want to go to bed:) I love you guys, and hope that I'll hear from you soon! Keep me and my Nanny in your prayers, and know that I'll be praying for you too!

XOXO,
Hannah