spoiled

being here on project has definitely made me realize how spoiled i am at school. i just put 2 loads of wash in and had to pay $3. i'm not used to this having to pay for things bit. it's making me appreciate what high point does for it's students. i also take our wireless for granted. i haven't posted much because i struggle to get a wireless connection, and since my computer hates me my Ethernet doesn't really work.

but now to the good stuff. i am constantly amazed that i'm actually here. God is definitely challenging me on a daily basis. mostly i'm learning to work on my patience, which unfortunately i prayed for earlier in the school year, so it seems like now i'm constantly struggling with it. waiting to hear back on job applications is hard as well as just my patience with other people. it's a good lesson though and very humbling.

so since sunday i've basically been out applying for jobs full time. it's so draining! it's hard to trust God that he's going to provide me with a job and it's scary not knowing what my income is going to be. God's also teaching me how to budget my money. haha. which is a lesson that i totally need. so monday and tuesday i was out in the city just applying for jobs.

monday night we had what's called re:charge which is basically just a meeting for everyone on project to go over the plan for the week and worship together. on monday we found out which campuses we're going to be ministering to. i'm at uic (university of illinois-chicago), illinois institute of art, and school of the art institute of chicago.

tuesday night we had our action groups (Bible study groups). it was nice to get back into that atmosphere. i've missed small group so much! we studied the first chapter of Galatians. it was neat how our leader (natalie) broke it down. it was more like we analyzed the writing of it, who wrote it, why was it written, what was the purpose, and who were they writing it too. i don't know why but i've never looked at the Bible that way, but i found that i liked it a lot.

wednesday was my day to go on campus. i went to the merchandise mart where a.i. (art institute) is. it's the largest building in the u.s. i think? while there me and the staffer i was with (mindy) talked to this one girl christina. we got her to do soularium with us, but she told us that she didn't like religion or anything spiritual. however she still talked to us quite a bit, which was interesting. the campus there is small so i'm pretty sure that i'll run into her again. after that i went to uic's campus and met with my discipler (katie) and just talked and got to know her. i told her my story and she made me practice sharing the KGP (knowing God personally) booklet with her...which was interesting. i'm nervous for when i have to actually share it with someone for real. but it was cool to get to know here better.

wednesday night was re:late which is like a typical cru meeting where we can bring people that we've been ministering to to come and worship. it was nice to just worship with music, because that's always my favorite part. a bunch of students who are involved in the chicago metro cru came to worship with us. they run on the quarter system so they're getting ready to take finals, but it was cool to see them excited about what we're doing, trying to bring cru to other campuses and build interest.

thursday i had an interview at potbelly sandwich works in merchandise mart. so i went there hoping for possible employment, but i only got one question into the interview. when the manager found out that i was only going to be here for the summer she said that they needed more long term people. i was really disappointed because i need a job badly, but i know that it's because God has something else planned for me.

yesterday me and two of my roommates, emily and francesca, decided to take a break from the whole job hunting process. we went into the city and chilled at caribu coffee and read our Bibles. i worked on my faith story because i have to get it down to 3 minutes. after that we went to millennium park and just sat. there was a free orchestra concert that was going on so we sat and listened to that for awhile. it was nice to be able to go into the city and really enjoy it. the other days i've been so consumed with finding a job and applying places that i never got the time to enjoy chicago. yesterday was the first day that i realized that i'm in chicago! then later last night around 11 a bunch of us decided to go into the city to take some pictures. a lot of people here are into photography so it's cool to talk to them and learn from them since i know next to nothing about my camera and everything. hopefully my shots will turn out, it was kind of dark in some places.

yesterday was definitely needed. it was good to spend time with the Lord and relax and spend time with friends. it helped me to remember why i'm here, to serve Him. finding a job is part of that, but not the main purpose. i needed to be reminded of that.

i'm learning so much about God. and i'm so amazed by it.