Lots of words.

Hey, this is Erica, and I just have some stuff to add on to what Rachel said earlier. In addition to doing the floors and the inventory at the House, we also got the opportunity to organize for them. Some of the girls did an amazing job sorting through a crafts closet, a pantry was put back in order, and a library full of books was alphabetized. Even though a lot of it felt like such small, menial labor that wouldn't have much of an effect, the response we got from these little (in terms of overall effect, not so much in terms of time. These things took hours!) tasks was much more than we expected. I hope that all the things we did will help everything run a little smoother. The other thing that I wanted to mention was a little bit about our speaker for the trip. His name was Pastor Zan, and we learned so much from him. I think there's a picture of him posted somewhere on here(you can look if you like) He was from the New Jersey, so his preaching style was much different from what most of us are used to, but I think that the change just helped his message to come out stronger. He wasn't actually there on the first day, because he was delayed by a storm. He said that this was a sure sign that something good was going to happen in this trip because the devil tried to keep him from getting to us. He was very energetic, and we did a lot of shouting and clapping and raising of hands. On the first day he was teaching, he told us that we were all very special to God,despite of our pasts and our flaws and all the things that we have done wrong. God still wants us, and he can take away our shame and make us new in him. Pastor Zan was very passionate in telling us not to fall into the spirit that we are not good enough, that we are not anything important. He said that humans crave several things:strength, significance, recognition,and appreciation. Lack of these things is what leads to depression, self-harm, and suicide. But,since we matter to God, we don't have to want those things anymore. Through the Holy Spirit, we are give all the strength, significance, recognition, and appreciation that we require. We are special to God, and that is the most beautiful thing. That night, Zan had the leaders pray over us kids, praying that they would be a shield for us against all those things of the world that want to drag us down, that they would buoy us up, and be an example to us. Then, he instructed us to gather around our leaders to pray for them, to pray for the renewal of their energies in response to all the work and effort that they put into this trip, to pray that they also would not forget that God has chosen them. Our group ended up on the stage, since there wasn't quite enough room on the floor of the chapel, and I can say that most of us were teary-eyed. It was a powerful message to have all at once:that God cares so much that he gave us all that we need despite our so many failings(no matter how large) and that we have leaders who have given nearly everything for us to be there. I mean, Amy and Brandon even gave up Baby Parker to hang out with us! (okay, maybe that wasn't so hard, since maybe the were ready for a break, but still...!) And that wasn't the end of all the amazing messages. There were more days I cried in church here than not. Pastor Zan just had great things to say and a way of saying it that just spoke directly into our hearts. I wish I could tell you more, like what the other lessons were, but I've gone on much longer than I expected... Whoops! Suffice to say, we all worked hard and learned well!

Finished closet!!!

Erica mopping the pantry

Organizing one of the many storage lockers!