Week 35: Polanco Family Week

Hello everyone! How was everyone's Easter? Did God reveal Himself to any of you? I'd love to hear if He did! I sure did pray for all of you : )

This week is Week 35, and I am writing this a little late in the week but only because this week has been jam packed with fun and quality time with the Polanco Family. Josh and Jen Polanco are the pastors at The Salvation Army in Blue Island, IL where I began to go after I was saved in 2007. Actually, when I first started going, the building was in Mt. Greenwood, IL but then about a year ago they built a Salvation Army in Blue Island. I worked there at the corps for about a year, ran the youth group (In-fyuz) for about 3 1/2 years, and met my amazing Blue Island corps "family" whom I love and miss dearly. I have lived with the Polancos before, and they are like family. I love each and every one of them. Jen is one of my best friends- it's really amazing how much alike we are.

A couple weeks ago, Josh called me up and told me that there was a possibilty that the family would be coming to Boston for a short short before heading to Puerto Rico. Thank goodness that going to Puerto Rico was too expensive because they decided not to go and to spend their vacation with me instead!!

This week I'm very simply enjoying time with the Polanco Family. We've done a ton of sightseeing, a ton of walking, and a lot of just sharing life together- something I really miss about my Blue Island community. Here are some pictures of the week so far. Looking forward to the last couple days with them, then I'll be sad to see them go but so grateful for the wonderful time spent with them!

Week 34: Holy Week

Hello, friends! Can you believe that it's already week 34? Gosh, time has flown. Last week ended up going well. I feel like I'm getting out more, doing more, hanging out with people more, and that's a really great thing. I've also been having plenty of time for myself. Is it possible that I may have found balance??? I think so! If you know me even a little bit, you know that balance is always something that I have a hard time with, so the fact that I feel pretty balanced at this point is quite amazing. Praise God! To sum up last week, I'm still waiting to hear back from that guy who works at the teen homeless shelter, I'm looking into an art class at a community art center, and always looking for more places to explore!

This week is very simple. This week is "Holy Week," as it is the week leading up to Easter. I know that those of you reading this come from different backgrounds and different traditions, but for me, this week as always meant so much to me. I grew up in the Catholic church, and I always looked forward to Holy Week. We went to church for Holy Thursday (where some people would get their feet washed by the priest-now that I look back, I think that's an awesome tradition), Good Friday (veneration of the cross), Easter Vigil (a beautiful night service which included a lot of candles and a joyous celebration), and then Easter Sunday. Also, throughout lent my family and I used to go to Stations of the Cross every Friday night and then out for cheese pizza since we couldn't eat meat. When I think about the Catholic church, I think that they have a lot of things right when it comes to lent. As I write this, I wish I would have taken the time to find a church that did stations of the cross because even though back then, I just did things because I knew I should, I think now they would mean so much to me.

There is this band from The Salvation Army's central territory called "The Singing Company," and they are wonderful. They do great music, but they are also amazing individuals who seek after God with all their heart. They just recorded a CD with another band called "Families," and this CD just came out called "Holy Week." It's wonderful because you can go to their website here, and they have put together scripture and devotions that go along to the songs on their CD for Holy Week. I am following this for Holy Week, and I would encourage you guys to do the same.

Friends, I know that not all of you who follow this blog believe in God. I know that many are skeptical, many have been hurt by the church, many have experienced things so painful that you just can't understand how if God was real, He would have allowed them to happen- there are a ton of reasons that could be keeping you from accepting that Jesus died on the cross for your sin, my sin, everyone's sin. I challenge you during this week to let God in- even if it's just to say, "Hey God. If you're there, make yourself known to me. Help me to see you in my life." Doesn't have to be some long, dramatic speech if you don't want it to be. I believe that God wants to make Himself real to you. He wants you to know how much He loves you and that He died for you because of that crazy love that we probably won't ever fully understand. This week, this Holy Week, I'm dedicated to praying for YOU. Yep, you- the person reading this who is unsure, afraid, hesitant. I'm praying that God would make Himself so known to you that there would be NO WAY you could deny Him. I have faith that He'll do it.

If you are reading this and have more questions or would like me to pray for something more specific, please e-mail me at akeene9986@gmail.com

Week 33: Anti-Hermit Crab Week

Hello, friends!! How are you all? Most of you guys who follow my blog are people that I would see pretty frequently when I lived in Chicagoland, so I miss you guys! I hope that all of you are doing well, and I hope the turning of seasons to Spring has brought a little bit of sunshine and happiness into your lives. My week being barefoot was fun! I wasn't able to buy a pair of TOMS because I've been low on cash, but I plan on buying a pair when I have some money.

I will start by saying that this move to Quincy has been many things, but the word that sums it up would be "challenging." God is challenging me in many ways, and already, I feel like I've grown a lot in just two weeks. I have some really great days (mostly when I'm with people), and then I have some pretty not-so great days. I'd say yesterday was by far, the worst day I've had here. I don't know what was going on, but I didn't feel well and just felt depressed. I've been trying to figure out why this has been so hard for me, and I think it's because I was just so used to being around people all the time. In 2005, I started at Trinity and for 4 years, I lived with 2 or more girls each year. Then I lived in Blue Island, and lived with Meghan, Rebecca, Neisy, Amber....Then just a couple months ago, I lived with Rebecca in our lovely, sketchy house. THEN I moved back in with my family, where my niece was always over. So all that to say, I am used to having people around, and I love it. Even having a person in the same room as you, not even talking, is comforting.

Here in Quincy, I live by myself, and that's been difficult. To make things a little easier, I want to take this week and look up some things to do, maybe a class to take, a place to volunteer, etc. Now, I DO NOT want to completely fill all of my time so that I am never alone (something I would have done before), because I know that God is using this time on my own to teach me that He is really everything that I need. I want down time, but I also don't want to live like a hermit, holed up in my little apartment. I need to take a step out, so that is what this week is about! Now, I do realize that I called this week anti-hermit crab week. Sure, I don't want to be like a hermit crab in that it tends to stay in its shell, but mostly I didn't want to call this week "Anti-Hermit" week, because I didn't want to seem against those who do actually seclude themselves from society. I am also not against hermit crabs, especially since my new friends have one as a pet-I just didn't know what else to call this week. So sorry to any hermits/hermit crabs I may have insulted in this post. That was not the intention : )

Any way, first thing I did for this week was e-mail a guy who spoke at our advisory board meeting. He works with homeless youth, and I would love to volunteer some time at a shelter. There is one in Quincy, so I talked to this guy after the board meeting last week and then e-mailed him today. I'm hoping to hear back from him soon! Tomorrow, I'd like to look and see if there are any community classes that are being offered. As I find some things to do, I'll let you guys know!

Week 32: No Shoes Week

Good morning, y'all! I'm writing this post from my apartment, in gloomy Quincy. The weather the last couple days has been rainy and dreary. Yuck. BUT still loving Quincy despite the gross weather! Last week went very well. I think I've adjusted well, but let me tell you, God is most definitely challenging me in many many ways. It's all great though, and I know that it's in order to change me for the better. I'll probably go more in depth with that in another post maybe this week that's separate from this week's goal.

"No Shoes Week" is the title for week 32. I'll start my explanation with a story from the "One Day Without Shoes" Website:

Maria, age 10, Guatemala

Why shoes: Mountainous and muddy terrain makes farming difficult, both physically and economically, and Maria has never owned a pair of new shoes. This leaves her exposed to infection, intestinal worms, and cold weather illness.

Long-term Benefit: With additional protection from illness and infection, Maria can spend more days helping her family and building her potential in school.

Basically, shoes (things that we really take for granted) are not available to everyone in the world. There are so many places like Ethiopia where people are walking through the streets without shoes in city streets filled with things like glass, metal, and even sewage. Wearing shoes and practicing good hygiene can prevent diseases and infections.

TOMS is an organization that sells shoes, and with every pair purchased, they send a child in need a pair of shoes. Awesome, right? TOMS is the organization that is hosting the "One Day Without Shoes" campaign, which is officially today April 5, in order to raise awareness about the need.

I think a lot of times we get so wrapped up into our own lives and our own wants and needs, that we forget that there are people that are truly in need of things that we take for granted. This is really a simple way to spread the word- go barefoot today or some day this week and when people ask, tell them why! AND visit the TOMS website and buy a pair of shoes. Simple. I know that I have a couple friends participating in "One Day Without Shoes," and I hope that some more of you participate, too!

So basically this week, I am going to go bare foot as much as I can. I think there will be some situations where I'm going to need to wear shoes, but to work and walking outside and such, I will be barefoot. I think you should join me, too. This is a very practical way to get outside yourself and advocate for people around the world who are in need. Let's do it together!