Sleep

Its been almost 5 months since I moved into my new house, and not once have I been kept up late because of loud music. Not once.

I climb into my really comfy bed (pillow top mattress and box spring set, that I got off of Craigslist; along with the bed frame, for $200!) every night, and I sleep through the night. Every night.

And I literally thank the Lord for it every night. :)

I'm Still Here!

I bet you thought I was just going to give up on this blog! Well, I kinda wondered the same thing, but I am not ready to give up yet. I do have A LOT going on, but this blog is a great way for me to not only share all that's happening, but also help me process everything. So, while my schedule has limited my blogging recently, I am committed to keeping this going and am hoping to make more time to write.

Since its been over a month since I last updated, I am aware that there is no way that I will be able to update you on everything. So, as has been my recent blogging style, I will just give you the highlights.

I had a week off (YAY!) after the mission trip and then we all went to Sandy Cove for our staff retreat. It was such a treat!! Usually we spend our summer staff retreat at Camp Men O Lan. Its always a fun time, but its very "camping". We sleep in cabins, the bathrooms and showers are in a different building, and there are a lot of bugs, haha. I'm NOT a fan of any form of camping, so while the company makes the retreat a wonderful time, I am not usually excited about the accommodations. In addition, the activities that are available at Men O Lan are mainly family fun things (which makes sense, since there are only 2 single people that come on the staff retreat). I don't want to sound like I am complaining, I do enjoy staff retreat. Its a huge blessing to be able to get out of the city for a few days, and to spend time with the staff (all of whom I really enjoy!). I'm just not much into "the great outdoors". :) (To me, hiking is just walking around, sweating and avoiding bugs, haha).

So, going somewhere new this year was exciting for me! Sandy Cove is more like a hotel overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. It was so amazing! We slept in real beds (not cabin bunk beds), had a ton of options during free time (pool, frisbee golf, miniature golf, volleyball, etc), had AMAZING food at every meal, and were treated to beautiful sunsets every night over the Chesapeake Bay. I loved it!! I doubt we will be able to go there again any time soon (a supporting church blessed us with this opportunity; normally, it's about 4 times the cost of Men O Lan), but I definitely enjoyed it this year!

After returning from staff retreat, I spent most of my time working on my CASA case (the court date was coming soon), getting ready for fall ministry and cleaning my house. I never have time to clean when ministry is in full gear, so I like to try and at least start the season with a clean house. It was pretty boring and low key, and I loved it. :)

I also had the AWESOME opportunity to see my Hokies play at the Tech Vs. Boise State game on Labor Day! I haven't been to a Tech game in years, and while we did lose (sad), it was a really exciting game!! I LOVED IT!!! Ashley went with me, which was also awesome. She is a huge football fans as well, which made it even more fun! I love football!!!!! :)

The weekend after Labor Day kicked off the fall for me, and I have been going pretty full speed since then. I had the opportunity to travel to Lebanon, Indiana (about 30 minutes from Indianapolis) and surprise my friends Matt and April. April and I have been friends since 7th grade (18 years!!), and I absolutely love her husband and three daughters. To make a really long story short, I was invited out there by a couple from Matt and April's church who were interested in supporting me (thanks to Matt and April sharing with them all about my ministry!). So, I flew to Indianapolis on a Friday where this couple (Gary and Lana) picked me up and took care of me until we could surprise Matt and April later that evening. And they were surprised! So, I spent the weekend hanging out with Matt and April, while also meeting with several elders from their church and even speaking to a Sunday school class and the youth group. It was so fun!! And fruitful! At the end of the weekend, this couple not only committed to supporting me monthly, but their support amounts to approximately 1/3 of all of my support!! 3 weeks later, and I'm still in shock! Praise the Lord!!!!

I got back from Indiana on Monday, spent Tuesday unpacking and cleaning, went to court for my CASA case on Wednesday morning, and then drove 8 hours to NC, to be sleeping soundly at my parents house on Wednesday night. It was a whirlwind to say the least! I only got to spend 4 days at my parents (which is okay because I did get to see them several times over the summer), but it was a really nice and relaxing time. Plus, my dad had plenty of time to take care of all of my car needs. :)

I got back to Philly this past Monday, and I have been spending this week really trying to get things together for the fall (I should be ready for this, but I am not!!). Everything starts up again next week and I won't have any real time off until Thanksgiving... so I have a lot to do! I am excited to get started, but I honestly don't really feel ready for everything. Ready or not, though, the fall is here!!!

A Quickie to Tide You Over ;)

Hey!! Things have been SO busy, and I am still recovering. I got back Saturday night from our teen mission trip (after driving for 16 hours straight!!) and spent all day yesterday cleaning and paying bills, so now I need some rest!! I will post a long update soon, on everything! For now, you can check out pictures from the Reading Rocks party here:
Reading Rocks Pics (password: church).

And, you definitely want to check out our mission team video/slide show here:

Cornerstone Teen Mission Trip 2010 from Trish Reed on Vimeo.

Stay tuned for a real update!! For now, I am going to rest! :)

Its Just So Hot Outside!

This is my first summer not working for AIM, which means it is my first summer with only one job, instead of two. Yet, somehow this is the busiest summer I have had in my 7 summers in Philly! (After my first year in Philly, I spent the summer in Ghana, so while I have been in Philly for 8 years, I have only spent 7 summers here). Of course, the only reason I am surviving all of this busyness is my incredible intern, but I will talk more about her later. :)

Despite being busy, I do not feel overwhelmed... Praise the Lord! My friend Carisa described it perfectly, my plate is absolutely full, but its not spilling over. Its so true! I go to bed exhausted, but excited for the next day!! :)

We just completed a 5 day long VBS (during the hottest week of the summer, at our church that does not have any air conditioning!!!), and I am more than exhausted.




I can't complain, though. This is what I look at during my "work" hours:






Of course, there are also the staff members kids, who I get to see even more often (and love every second that I do!!). These kids NEVER cease to make me smile!! How could you not love these faces??


Of course, we still had God Squad, Teen Club, Kids Club, Reading Rocks, Prayer Pals, Theology Class, and Mission Trip prep to keep me busy. Still, when I come home, I am often greeted by these faces:





My favorite moment so far this week was when I introduced Gizmo to the neighborhood kids (who were all crowded at my front door to get a look at my big kitty). The best reaction came from this boy:

As he was petting Giz, he very emphatically yelled (and I do mean yelled); "He's so big and fluffy, like a pillow! I just want to sleep on him!"

Yup, I definitely can not complain at all. :)

All Work and No Play...

That's definitely NOT how I am spending my summer! In fact, Ashley and I are trying to make sure we do something fun each week (a necessity since I am averaging about 70 work hours each week!). This summer is VERY different for me, as its my first one without the girls. Usually, I am planning trips to Hershey Park and the beach for at least 3. Now, its just me, and almost always Ashley. Its definitely a bittersweet time as I am having a good time, but something is missing...

My new favorite "get away" activity is going to the drive in!! Delsea Drive-In (the only drive-in inNJ), is about an hour away from Philly, and provides the PERFECT night away!! Every Friday and Saturday night, they show double features for $8 per person (and they are all new releases). In addition, they have an incredible concession stand that is actually reasonably priced, with TONS of options! You can get cotton candy, pizza, slushies, fries, burgers... they even have sundaes and chocolate dipped strawberries!! Its a really easy drive, and then we just relax in our car enjoying movies and the clear night sky!! We LOVE it!!

Of course, I can't afford to go to the drive-in every weekend, so we are getting creative. July 9th was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A, and Ashley, Lindsay and I decided to go! On C.A.D., Chick Fil A provides a free meal to anyone who comes to a store dressed as a cow. So....

Yup! We made our own cow costumes and got our free meal! We also ran into another family from church, and enjoyed eating with them! It was a lot of fun!

Cow Appreciation Night has motivated us to have more theme nights. :) Last night, Ashley and I hosted our own Fiesta night! Unfortunately, we didn't have sombreros, but we did have tacos and guacamole dip! And, thanks to Netflix instant being available on the Wii, we had endless movie options. It was fun!

We are hoping to make it to Dorney Park sometime this summer, and are looking into a possible cruise in the fall (saving my pennies!). But, for the most part we are spending our time being creative and thrifty! We have gotten a few fun coupons for meals out and some birthday gift cards have allowed us to get away as well. As busy as the summer has been, its definitely also been a lot of fun!

The best weekend yet, however, came on my birthday. It was an AWESOME birthday! On July 3rd, I turned 30 years old. I know that isn't old, and I don't feel old. However, it is a milestone and one I'm honestly not too happy about it. I really thought I would be in a different place by the time I turned 30.. but that's for another post.

As my birthday approached, I had no idea what I was going to do. Its 4th of July weekend, and since I hate crowds, my options were limited. I was also warned that my new block tends to get a little rowdy on the 3rd, so we were looking to get away. I started looking at what beaches were nice (the Jersey Shore is close, but CROWDED), and everything that came up were beached near my parents! So, Ashley had the genius idea of taking a road trip to see my parents!! They live an hour from several great beaches, and my brother and his fiance said they would come to hang out too! So, that's what we did!!! It was awesome!!

I had a mission team meeting until 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd, so we left really late and drove through the night. My GPS took us in a really ridiculous route, so we didn't arrive until almost 5 a.m. on my birthday. My parents just left the door unlocked for us, so we went in and went straight to bed. We both slept in (which was so nice!), which was fine because Jack and Suzanne didn't arrive until around 4. So, on my actual birthday we relaxed, and then went out to eat at a restaurant by the water. It was very low key, and absolutely perfect.

On the 4th; Ashley, Jack, Suzanne and I packed up the car, drove about an hour and spent the entire day laying out on the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with absolutely awesome people. We all got pretty burnt, but it was totally worth it.

We drove back to my parents house where they had a bbq dinner ready for us. Yum!! Then my dad, Ashley and I drove into downtown Washington to watch the fireworks. And, we got there in time to watch the sunset over the water. So beautiful!

Unfortunately, Ashley and I had to go back to Philly the next morning, but it was still a great weekend. It was short, but very refreshing!!

So, that's the fun times of a single, 30 year old missionary in Philadelphia. I've also had a sleepover with some of my God's Girls and a few Wii competitions with some of the teens. In all, its been a lot of fun. Not what I thought my life would look like at 30, but its still pretty fun. :)

A Busy Time of Year

Wow, and once again its been a month since I have updated. I guess all I can say is, its a VERY busy time of year for me!! I do want to keep everyone who is interested (all 3 of you!) updated with what's going on, so I have committed to writing several posts today to hopefully catch you up on everything (including my thoughts of turning 30 a few weeks ago!!). First, I will start with the ministry happenings of the last month!

The most exciting and fun thing happening, in terms of ministry, has been Reading Rocks. Reading Rocks started just after my last post, and its been going strong every Tuesday and Thursday! We have a total of 83 kids on our roster! We are averaging about 30 kids a day, which is the biggest year yet for us!! We have made some big changes this year, that I was EXTREMELY nervous about, at first, but seem to really be working out for the best.

(That's me up front! Ahhh!)

(If this picture doesn't make you jealous of my job, there is something wrong with you! Haha) :)

In the past, Carisa and I were in charge of the younger kids (the ones who need help reading and/or just aren't quite up to reading chapter books), while Laurie and Shannon took care of the older kids; the chapter book readers. This summer, we decided that Carisa would partner with Shannon with the chapter book readers and I would take charge of the younger kids; with the help of my intern of course! :)

This new role means that I am up front more and in charge of more, both of which I was very nervous about, but it has all actually worked out beautifully. Lindsay and I are enjoying our time with the younger ones, and Carisa and Shannon are (of course) doing an incredible job with the chapter book readers. In fact, this is my favorite year of Reading Rocks!! (How Shannon and Carisa manage to do all that they do while also taking care of their own families... I will never understand... but I'm SO thankful that they do!!!)

**In my previous posts I referred to Lindsay as Cupcake. I don't like to use kids' real names, but now that Lindsay is 18, is my intern and will be my newest roommate soon, Cupcake seemed kinda juvenile for her, haha. So, I got her permission to start using her real name! :)

We have also had one week of VBS already at church (no pics, sorry!), with another one on its way next week, as well as a Kids Day on July 2nd, and another one (hosted by the mission trip teens!) on July 15th! The kids (and I!!) are having a really busy, and fun summer!

I have to apologize for not having many pictures. I usually forget my camera, though even if I had it, I'm usually too busy to take pictures. The only reason that there are Reading Rocks pictures is because of Carisa! I'm going to try and work on that though...

So, that's whats been going on with the kids (as well as, of course, Kids Club every week). But that's not all that I have been up to! The teens are keeping me pretty busy this summer as well, and I have to admit I'm enjoying them as much as I'm enjoying the kids! The Extreme Team is in full swing and we have had many awesome events. First, several of the teens are regular helpers at Reading Rocks (I will take more pics of them soon!). In fact, in my opinion, they are the core of Reading Rocks and I know I couldn't survive without them!

My favorite teen event, so far, was our read through the bible. We got together and for 4 hours on a Sunday night to read through 40 essential bible passages, from Genesis to Revelation. We had 20 teens come and participate! It was amazing!

After the bible reading, we let the teens sleep over at the church because at 6:00 the next morning we all loaded onto a bus to drive to Blue Rocks to spend the day hiking. It was a VERY intense day of hiking over boulders and through the woods, but we all survived! I HATE hiking, but I REALLY enjoyed the day with the teens!

I am also heading up our teen mission trip this summer, and we have been VERY busy preparing for it. We will be driving 12 hours to Jacksonville, FL this year! We started with 12 people; 9 teens and 3 leaders. Unfortunately, we are down to 10, having had a teen and a leader step down, but we are still VERY excited about the trip... and we leave in 3 weeks! Right now we are in the midst of some major fund raising. First, we hosted a spirit night at Chick Fil A, where the teens served customers and we were given a percentage of the profits to put toward the trip. Tons of people from the church came out to support us that night, so it was a lot of fun!

The teens are also sending out support letters, and tomorrow we will start our hoagie sale! We have to raise over $4000 total, which is a bit daunting for an inner city church (especially with my own personal support struggling). God is teaching us all SO much through all of this, though, and the teens (and leaders!) are really being in their faith, and its awesome! I'm trying not to get too overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done to prepare for the trip. The teens hosted and ran a Kids Day at church this past Thursday and while I expected them to do well, they did even better than I expected!! Its been really great to see God stretching each of them and watching them rise to the challenge every time. I'm so excited for the trip!! Now, if I can just stop stressing about all of the details....

In the midst of ALL that is going on, though, the #1 highlight for me this summer (in terms of ministry) has been my weekly mentoring with 2 of the teens. I have the incredible privileged of meeting weekly with these two beautiful ladies:

(The pic is from their prom. Aren't they SO BEAUTIFUL???)

We are studying the book "Experiencing God" together, and we are all being blown away. These two young women both have such incredible hearts for the Lord (they are both going on the mission trip!), and I love every minute I get to spend with them! We have already realized that we won't finish the book this summer, but all agree that we want to keep going in the fall. What a blessing!!!
Of course, in addition to these special events, we have been having God Squad and Teen Club regularly. Our numbers have been down this summer, but commitment has been stronger from the teens that are coming out, so that's exciting!

Well, I think that's pretty much been ministry in a nut shell for the past month, though I'm sure I have left a ton out. I still have about a month of ministry being in full swing, culminating with the mission trip, before we take a little break. So, please continue to pray!! My house is on the verge of being declared a national disaster zone, and yet I can't seem to find the time or energy to clean it. I'm just hoping Ashley can put up with it for one more month before threatening to move out!

Speaking of Ashley, we have been up to some fun stuff over the past few weeks as well... I will post about that next! (Apparently my motto for this summer is to go non-stop with work and fun for 3 months and then collapse in August. Let's hope I survive until then!)