Off-Semester Update

It's was wonderful to see those of you I got to talk to and visit with at Christmas time. And I apologize to those who I was unable to visit with. My time home was quite short, as I was out of town for half time I was in Canada. I will do my best to see all of you in the summer if I make it home!
We are now in our off-semester season which runs from January thru February. Our work hours are now generally 9-5 for the majority of the week. Unlike semester which is 9-8 thru 11pm, depending on the day and what area of the city you minister in. So it is a nice break, but now I'm always trying to think of things to do. When you're used to being so busy, it can be hard to slow down! There's always something to do though!
At work I've been working on writing lessons for the next two semesters in this year. I just recently finished writing one on giving our all to God, and not just a bit of ourselves. It's interesting how no matter how many subjects I preach on or write on, I'm constantly convicted! Of course it's a good thing, since if I wasn't convicted then I'd think I was being a perfect Christian. Far from it! It is definitely a daily battle. And I am so grateful that the Holy Spirit brings to light those things in my life that need to be discarded or shaped by the Potter's hands.
I've been working on signing up the kids who are faithful to our program on sponsorship. It's always exciting to see kids who are so excited to come out and have fun but at the same time they are hungry for God. There's always a handful who come for the candy, but many of the kids come to learn about God - some of them knowingly admit it while others aren't even aware of why they are drawn to sunday school! It is such an honor to be able to show each child the way to the Father through Jesus Christ.
There's really not a lot happening right now, but I am trying to re-organize my life so that I can stay on top of this blog! I know that there is a handful of you that read it, so I need you to keep me accountable. Thank you all standing alongside me in this battle for the kingdom of God with your prayers. Much luv.

My God daughter

I forgot to mention that I am officially a Godmother! My God-daughter's name is Aniya, she is the little girl on the right. I have been able to really spend a lot of time with her and her mother and brothers and sisters, and have been able to help them out a lot with things. But they have been such a blessing to me, having them in my life!

Recap

It's been quite awhile since I've written on my blog. But I am back, and ready to get at it again! So much has happened in the past six months! Both good and bad of course, but all in all they have been very stretching months, which is a good thing. God is continually growing me in so many ways. Yes, I'm still a work in process, but aren't we all?
This summer I was able to go home and visit family in friends. It was such a nice trip. I had a rough semester previous to me trip, so it was a much needed break. As most of you know, I am now a Unit Leader. So I lead a team of people to do ministry. It's a very challenging position, and there are times when I don't like having to fill the position, but I can honestly say that God has realy been molding me and teaching me things that I couldn't have learned without being forced into the position.
Summer camp was a lot of fun in August. The kids were so excited to be out in the woods, even though it was for only a few days. I love camp, because you get the kids out of their homes and familiar surroundings. When you take them away from the chaos they live in, you finally get that chance to see them open up and watch them just be kids without worrying about getting screamed at or hit or simply ignored.
Semester started again in September. It's been good so far. I was given a second full time staff member, who I had been praying for! So now there are 3 full time staff (that includes me!)in my team, Unit 16. I have three interns that I've been training up this semester. Heiko from Germany, Gundi from Germany, and Hao Ying from Malaysia. They are all great interns. Very different from eachother, but we have a lot of fun together and we have great unity in the team this semester.
I'm really startint to love the kids on my new site. It's been really hard leaving my old site of 2 years. You build so many relationships and you invest in so many people, and then to have to leave all that behind is heart breaking. But I am building new relationships now, and my site is growing. In the area I work now, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Sunday School is new in some parts. So it's not established like it is in the Bronx and Brooklyn. So we really are pioneering in LES. This does make it a lot harder, but it also make it more exciting since we are the ones breaking the ground to do ministry there.
Tonight I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Tomorrow I'll write down a few things that are going on with some of the families that I have gotten to know quite well. Thank you for all of your prayers. I couldn't do this without you all backing me up.