body shop post #7

last night was fun! when i got to bodyshop i was greeted with hugs from a couple of the girls that were at the lock-in. i really wish that we could have had the lock-in at the beginning of the semester. i think that it would have really helped in connecting with the girls and i could have gotten so much farther in relationships with them. it was really good though to see all of the girls and to see them interacting with each other more than before. it would be really interesting to see what could have developed if it wasn't the end of the semester.

body shop post #6 lock-in edition 1.2

ok...so now that i'm somewhat caught up on my sleep time to fill in the incredible details of the night...

i showed up at bodyshop at 6 on friday not knowing really what my role would be in the event. i knew i would hang out with the girls, but other than that i was clueless. what my part ended up being was really a support to the girl that planned the whole night. i took charge of checking the girls in as they arrived and collecting their money, i took part in the comedy show that all of the leaders put on, i was official photographer for the night, and helped to get activities set up throughout the night. i was really able to see myself be sort of the behind the scenes leader...i wasn't really up front at all or leading any of the activities and even though i did spend quite a bit of time with the students it was not as much as the other leaders...i was really able to be the one to serve the other leaders to enable them to do their "thing."

it was really cool for me to not only see what kind of leadership i would bring to the night, but also to watch the other girls who were leading as well. they were all freshmen and sophomores, so i was the oldest leader their and i was really impressed with all of them. they stepped up and really got to know the girls, they dealt with girls not feeling well, with some drama that could have ended badly, but they were able to work it out, and they did a great job of leading the various activities throughout the night.

do give you an idea of what the night looked like...we began with big group, ice-breaker, type games in the gym, we then moved to decorating shirts and shoes with markers, fabric paint, hot glue and gem stones. after that we played crab soccer, which is when the kids do the crab walk to play and use a big beach ball! it was really fun to watch that game!! after that we did the comedy show and by towards the end of that the girls were beginning to disengage a bit so we were a little worried that things would go south fast. we were sorely mistaken. after the comedy show, one of the leaders sat down and shared her testimony with the girls...she was very transparent with the girls about things she had struggled with in her life and the girls really latched on to what she had to say and were very attentive. it was clear that God was speaking through her to these girls and they really responded. we spent the next two hours talking and praying with girls who were sharing their struggles and some really hard things that they were dealing with. through this time we were able to see the girls encouraging and loving on each other and even see one 6th grader lead a 7th grader she had just met to Christ. it was really an incredible couple of hours!

after that time, we moved into a dance party and then put in a movie. we ended with breakfast and clean-up about 7 in the morning and the girls were picked up at 8. all of the leaders were exhausted by the time the girls left, but we all felt so good about the things that took place throughout the night, both the more serious things and the crazy fun things!

i feel that i really got to connect with some of the girls this weekend and honestly, i wish that this event had been earlier in the semester so that i could have connected better in the beginning and continued the relationships rather then it feeling like they are just now starting at the end of the semester...oh well...i'll just have to try and make the most of the time that is left!

body shop post #5~lock-in edition 1.1

wow...what an awesome night!

however, i am running on ten minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours, so i'll catch up a bit and get back here later.

body shop post #4

its been a while since i've posted and i missed body shop last week so i'm a bit behind. anyway...last night was good. i played volleyball with a few girls at the beginning and that was fun. i feel like i am just now getting into the swing of things now that the semester is almost over! that is so frustrating. i feel that i didn't contribute as much as i thought i would, oh well, nothing i can do about that now. we are having a girls lock-in on friday so that should be really fun...i wish it had been at the beginning of the semester so that i could have connected better with some girls then instead of now.

i guess that's all for today...i'll post again after the lock-in.

body shop post #3

so this week is spring break and i could have skipped body shop, but i decided to go ahead and take the hour drive to be there. my mom and her friend (and my mentor) came with me. they have both spent a lot of time with jr. high and high school students in their days. it was fun to have them there with me.

i realized something this week...because it was spring break i was really the only college student there to help out, there were a few high school kids, but that's beside the point. i think that the other college students who are typically there may be the reason that i am hesitant to jump in with the kids. when it was just me, i jumped in there started some games of knock out, took more lead in the crowd control arena and had a really fun night. i think that i feel intimidated by the other college kids who are there because they have more history at body shop than i do and they know the kids better than i do. but that won't change unless i jump in and get to know the kids.

i need to not let my own insecurities get in the way of my learning or my relationship with the kids.

we'll have to wait and see how it goes next week when everyone is back from spring break!

flavor of the week #6

so mcconn has this drink...osaka sunrise....its amazing. it has strawberry and orange syrup, sierra mist, and orange juice....so good! you should totally go and get one right now...seriously...go...now! :)

body shop post #2

so i forgot to write about body shop last week, so i'll have to roll the two into one...

i am finding that i'm not as sure of myself with this group of kids. the group that i worked with in the past we kids that i had known in some capacity for a while and they were mostly "churched" kids. now, i don't know any of them, some get no church other than wednesday night youth group, and some are just rougher kids. i don't know if i'm afraid or what, but for whatever reason i'm having a hard time even going up and introducing myself to girls. i so badly want to do well in my time there and to build relationships with the girls, but so far it has been really hard.

another part that has been a little difficult is how i relate with the other leaders there. there are several college students who help out and i've been there for three weeks now and two of the probably 20 or so have even talked to me at all. i can tell which of the leaders have been helping there for a while because they interact with each other, but its almost like a "don't talk to the new kid until she's not new anymore" thing....it's just really weird. i kind of wished that there was a time when all of the leaders could get together and just hang out and get to know one another. i feel that doing that would really build that team feeling and that we would all work together better to love and serve the kids that come.

i don't know if i'm making much sense, i'm just kind of unloading my thoughts...more to come