Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Coming into VS/a ten minute recap of what I did

Coming into Volunteer Service was for me like a room without windows! I couldn´t see inside, I didn´t know what was coming up! Many things I didn´t know or had never experienced before. It was my first stay in the US, I had never seen or talked to the people I would be living with and I had never worked with people who had disabilities. So many things I didn´t know what to expect. Though I still had some ideas of how it would be in the back of my mind. Well, it came a lot different then I had pictured!
Just to mention two things that became really important to me:

-Judgementalness; You and I meet new people everyday. People from different and sometimes new cultures, but also from our very own culture. Our society teaches us to judge everything and everybody, no matter what it is! Colour of the Skin, Way of living, style, faces and so much more. Matthew 7,1 says: “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” I think it´s all about excepting and loving people the way they are. Don´t store them in a shelf after you see them once or talked with them for a few sentences. Be open and spend time with them so you are able to explore their personalities and the way they really are! Listen so you can hear what they have to say and maybe you even might learn something.

-Serving; We are to help people in needs. Seeing other people first and trying to help them wherever we can. I want to put myself in second place. And show other people the love Christ gives us.

I wanted to be open and help UCP in every way I could. Classes I taught and helped out:

Art Department – Drawing, Working with Clay, Windshields, Paper Mache, Mosaics and my favourite class in the art department Candle Making!
Kitchen – Cooking, Baking (everybodys favourite German Christmas Cookies)
Performing Arts Department – Guitar, Piano, “American Idol” Karoke
Floating around in other Classes – Spanish, Jazz Café, German for Beginners, Cultures of the World, Sign Language, Games
Out and About – Exploring the community (Bowling, Theatre, Shopping, Parks, Museum)

Working at United Cerebal Palsy it´s all about:
- sharing time, your thoughts and having a good time together
- having an open ear for the students and share life together
- be there for them so there life can be as normal as possible
- help in every way you can

A Song that’s become very important in the last year!

Jesus, You are
Jesus, You were
Jesus, You will always be
A perfect servant to us
A perfect servant to death
Even death on a cross

Give us a picture of your face
Show us the measure of your grace
Reveal the love of the father
Put within us tenderness
Release from us all selfishness
We´ll consider them better
We are Your´s
Give us hearts of servants

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

schule

die ersten 2 schultage sind vorbei und ich leb noch! kam mir am ersten tag vor wie in der grundschule. die klassen wurden eingeteilt, bücher geholt und der stundenplan wurde vorgelesen dann durften wir wieder heim! nur auf die pädagogischen spiele habe ich umsonst gewartet. heut fings dann mim unterricht minimal an. es wurde noch sehr viel erklärt und erzählt. bin mal gespannt ob es morgen richtig los geht oder ob dann die pädagogischen spielchen kommen. ich blicke dem jahr immer noch ganz erwartungsvoll entgegen. mal schauen wie lange das hält wenn es dann richtig zur sache geht.
hoffe ihr hattet alle nen guten start...

Thursday, September 14, 2006

geburtseltagsparty

letzte woche war mein geburtstag, ich hab jetzt das alter erreicht da spricht man nicht mehr davon wie alt man ist :-)! hatte aber ne kleine feier mit ein paar anderen leuts am freitag. hat spass gemacht, besonders das dancen, hier ein paar eindrücke