Legit
For the past month and a half, I have been helping out Juliana with her new arrivals. Last week though I was assigned my very own clients. While this was a somewhat daunting task, it has been fun thus far and I was more prepared for the job than I thought I would be.
My new clients are from Congo and are 61, 22 and 5. In preparation for their arrival, I went grocery shopping, collected sheets, towels, blankets and other household goods and set up the apartment for them which made me feel very maternal. Only the 22 year old, Christine, speaks just a few words of English. Not really enough for us to communicate with, but we seem to manage okay. Part of my job now entails applying for their social security cards, enrolling the 5 year old in school, getting more donations for their apartment and getting them enrolled in ESL and job skill classes.
Last week I went to their apartment to check it out and ended up showing them how to use the stove, bathroom cleaners, and the vent above the stove. Christine couldn’t understand what I was trying to tell her about the vent so she ended up cooking something on the stove and when steam started to rise I turned on the vent so she could see how it worked. After I was done, she showed me some things she had brought with her. Two of which were wooden, long handled cooking spoons. She proceeded to give me the two spoons. I was so touched and surprised by this gesture.
Other than work, I’ve been able to keep pretty busy lately. Some friends and I went to a wildflower farm outside Fredericksburg where they had the most gorgeous poppies (in the photos). After, we walked around the town which was really cute. This past weekend we went on a beach retreat with the women from our church. There were 28 of us in a 16 bedroom house. The weather was horrible on the way down there. At one point there was a bolt of lightning that hit a power pole and created a bright blue blaze. The weather cleared up and we were able to have some nice time on the beach. There were some good faith based discussions that made me think about some things. One thing I seem to be continually reminded of is having an intentional relationship with God. If I want and expect the relationship to grow and develop, I need to spend intentional time in it. I have been thinking about ways to do this and decided that on my way to work every morning I am going to pray and thank God for things I am grateful for. Hopefully this will get me in the habit of having more intentional and silent time.
Lauren and I planted a vegetable garden in our backyard and a lot of our plants are getting big. We planted tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, basil, squash, green beans, okra and onions. I’ve really enjoyed learning more about gardening. It’s nice to work outside. Pictures to come soon of this.
I have started looking and applying for jobs when my year here is finished. I feel like such a big girl. Please pray for me in the months to come as I try to discern what to do next. All of your support and love is so greatly appreciated. I am reminded a lot of what a great group of people are backing me in this endeavor. Much love to everyone and take care.
Thanks for sharing the pictures and the story. Awe – inspiring.