i would just like to take a moment to thank my wonderful parents, Mark and Lori, for being incredible. and for loving each other so much that it poured out into and over the four of us. you've been the most supportive and loving people i could've asked to raise me. you taught me discipline, honesty, integrity, perseverance, joy, how to poop in the woods, how to love my siblings more, how to be stubborn -or just really determined, and how to be a leader. mom, thanks for suffering through those excrutiating 46 hours of labor, and daddy, thanks for holding her holding her hand. and then, thanks for doing it all over again three more times; i have the best brother and sisters in the world.
i owe you a lot. i mean really, a looooooooot. so thank you. espcecially for my college education and experience. it's in large part because of you. and thanks for being so wonderful about letting me make decisions, even when they're bad and even when they're hard. THANK YOU for supporting me in this new season and adventure that the Lord has led me to here in LA. thanks for raising me in the church, and for asking tough questions and giving tough answers. i'm a better thinker because of it. and i love Christ more for it too. anyway, it may be my birthday in an hour and 20 minutes, but the celebration is for you too. 23 years with children, congratulations guys :)
with love and respect,
britani leah
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Center for Student Missions
soooo my lovely friend, Ellen, brought it to my attention that i have yet to actually say on here what i'm doing.......aaaaand i haven't actually read back through my posts to see if she's right. maybe because i'm a little wordy ;)
anyway, here's the down low on CSM, Los Angeles.
i am currently, the fall "host" for CSM LA. what does that mean...well, mostly on the weekends in the fall (more week-long for spring and summer) i host youth groups and college groups of students who are coming to the city for a mission trip of sorts. i'm the facilitator and liason between the groups and the places we serve. for example, last weekend, i hosted a lovely group of 15 high schoolers from Bakersfield, CA. after they came in on friday evening, i took them to supper -or dinner as californians say- at Honduras Kitchen and then we went on the Prayer Tour. [LA's prayer tour is anywhere from 2-3 hours long, and it's essentially a driving tour of the city. we get out and stop at several key spots of different areas and discuss some of the issues as they apply. all the while, we pray for whatever it is we see, and we look for ways that the Lord is in the city working.] at the end of each day, we debrief and kind of process through what we've seen, heard and experienced. let me just say that debriefs are often my favorite treasures of these trips. some of these kids are absolutely brilliant. some are broken and the Lord restores them in front of my eyes...for some, a dissonant chord is struck in their hearts and they leave passionate about something new.
after that first day, we typically serve at two different places each day, followed by supper at an ethnic place and debriefing again. my bakersfield group served at Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in the morning and then we split into two groups for the afternoon. my half of the group did a Meet-a-Need which is something that may be unique to LA? not really sure, but they don't do it in H-town. anyhow, the students go through a designated downtown area, trying to meet someone, learn their story and meet a particular need. we try to stress creativity :) after that, we served at Sharon Care which is a convelescent home. usually at places like this, we play the world renowned game of BINGO. buuut flexibility is key with CSM, so the group was AMAZING and just spent a couple hours getting to know the people livin there, and also went through the rooms "caroling". pretty sweet stuff :) you never, never know how much a song or a smile or a handshake means to someone else. sooooooo after that, we had supper at Zankou chicken; armenian food = bliss. that's all i have to say about that. love it :)
sunday mornings, we typically go to a culturally diverse worship service...and that's essentially a weekend in the life of Britani :) week long trips are my fave, because i really do love hosting. buuut those kids from bakersfield changed my mind about weekend groups. they encouraged and affirmed me more than they will ever know.
it's easy to doubt the good things that the Lord gives us....who knows why. but He used those students to remind me that i'm here for a reason, and that He's gifted me perfectly for this particular job.
thanks for your love and support. and prayer of course. it honestly has been harder than i expected, but better than i expected too. i'm finally getting settled and makin friends and connections. and i'm challenged to be more bold every day. i know, who would think it would be hard for me to talk to strangers........welllllll california is COMPLETELY different than kansas. but i'm getting better. God's still good and He's still taking care of me.
okayyyyyyy i know it's gettin really long now, BUT. the beach. wow. incredible. the ocean is blue here. who knew? ;) and the wavesssssssss. man those waves rock. and the sand. k well i love all of it.
also. I LOVE VISITORS. so iffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff i happen to decide to stay for longer than december, please PLEASE somebody come visit me for the love of Peter. i would love to share this new adventure with anyone who wants to see :)
anyway, here's the down low on CSM, Los Angeles.
i am currently, the fall "host" for CSM LA. what does that mean...well, mostly on the weekends in the fall (more week-long for spring and summer) i host youth groups and college groups of students who are coming to the city for a mission trip of sorts. i'm the facilitator and liason between the groups and the places we serve. for example, last weekend, i hosted a lovely group of 15 high schoolers from Bakersfield, CA. after they came in on friday evening, i took them to supper -or dinner as californians say- at Honduras Kitchen and then we went on the Prayer Tour. [LA's prayer tour is anywhere from 2-3 hours long, and it's essentially a driving tour of the city. we get out and stop at several key spots of different areas and discuss some of the issues as they apply. all the while, we pray for whatever it is we see, and we look for ways that the Lord is in the city working.] at the end of each day, we debrief and kind of process through what we've seen, heard and experienced. let me just say that debriefs are often my favorite treasures of these trips. some of these kids are absolutely brilliant. some are broken and the Lord restores them in front of my eyes...for some, a dissonant chord is struck in their hearts and they leave passionate about something new.
after that first day, we typically serve at two different places each day, followed by supper at an ethnic place and debriefing again. my bakersfield group served at Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in the morning and then we split into two groups for the afternoon. my half of the group did a Meet-a-Need which is something that may be unique to LA? not really sure, but they don't do it in H-town. anyhow, the students go through a designated downtown area, trying to meet someone, learn their story and meet a particular need. we try to stress creativity :) after that, we served at Sharon Care which is a convelescent home. usually at places like this, we play the world renowned game of BINGO. buuut flexibility is key with CSM, so the group was AMAZING and just spent a couple hours getting to know the people livin there, and also went through the rooms "caroling". pretty sweet stuff :) you never, never know how much a song or a smile or a handshake means to someone else. sooooooo after that, we had supper at Zankou chicken; armenian food = bliss. that's all i have to say about that. love it :)
sunday mornings, we typically go to a culturally diverse worship service...and that's essentially a weekend in the life of Britani :) week long trips are my fave, because i really do love hosting. buuut those kids from bakersfield changed my mind about weekend groups. they encouraged and affirmed me more than they will ever know.
it's easy to doubt the good things that the Lord gives us....who knows why. but He used those students to remind me that i'm here for a reason, and that He's gifted me perfectly for this particular job.
thanks for your love and support. and prayer of course. it honestly has been harder than i expected, but better than i expected too. i'm finally getting settled and makin friends and connections. and i'm challenged to be more bold every day. i know, who would think it would be hard for me to talk to strangers........welllllll california is COMPLETELY different than kansas. but i'm getting better. God's still good and He's still taking care of me.
okayyyyyyy i know it's gettin really long now, BUT. the beach. wow. incredible. the ocean is blue here. who knew? ;) and the wavesssssssss. man those waves rock. and the sand. k well i love all of it.
also. I LOVE VISITORS. so iffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff i happen to decide to stay for longer than december, please PLEASE somebody come visit me for the love of Peter. i would love to share this new adventure with anyone who wants to see :)
at the end of the day you're another day older.
so the other day, i was listening to one of my favorite musicals, Les Misérables....nearly every single time i listen to it, the lyrics and the movement of the music moves me to tears. yeaaaaa sure i am an emotional wonder, but still. anyway, one of the underlying themes of the story is that a group of poor or working class {of frace} band together. they're fighting and dying for one another, working to end opression and gain social justice. they inspire and empower themselves to fight for a change that they believe in.
i wish i had that courage, that motivation to really make a difference. i'm not talking about killing people obviously, but just about being radical enough to inspire someone -namely myself- to want to do something about this sick and broken world we live in. and do to it together. we can't be divided to function properly.
the body of Christ is made up of unique parts and each member must work with the rest. there are a million things that we disagree on, but there is common ground that's worth standing up for. the Kingdom of God is here and now. we are His children, called to love God and neighbor. now each of us will live that out in a different way, some will be mothers, some will be teachers, doctors, architects, artists, event planners, construction workers, missionaries, pastors, lawyers, general managers and pianists. we all have something different that we DO but we all have a similar thing that we ARE. soooooooo we should act like it. and as my man michael jackson says, "i'm starting with the man in the mirror". or woman.
i wish i had that courage, that motivation to really make a difference. i'm not talking about killing people obviously, but just about being radical enough to inspire someone -namely myself- to want to do something about this sick and broken world we live in. and do to it together. we can't be divided to function properly.
the body of Christ is made up of unique parts and each member must work with the rest. there are a million things that we disagree on, but there is common ground that's worth standing up for. the Kingdom of God is here and now. we are His children, called to love God and neighbor. now each of us will live that out in a different way, some will be mothers, some will be teachers, doctors, architects, artists, event planners, construction workers, missionaries, pastors, lawyers, general managers and pianists. we all have something different that we DO but we all have a similar thing that we ARE. soooooooo we should act like it. and as my man michael jackson says, "i'm starting with the man in the mirror". or woman.
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