While I am sitting at a coffee shop in black mountain, NC - I thought I would do a little update update.
Your first thought was probably "Why is Kira in Black Mountain, NC she lives in TN now." This is very true, and I am sure that there is a coffee house or something closer to where I live in TN but you know I just like the atmosphere so much in Black Mountain, that I had to come back!... Ok that is just a joke, really it is because I have a wedding to go to today! Woohoo! People are getting married today! Thankfully I have some amazing friends that live in the area still that let me stay in their house for FREE! I like to say that I make up the "rent" for staying in babysitting their child so that they can go out tonight! But part of it is just the fact that they are amazing! We even got to have waffles for breakfast courtesy of Dave (the husband of my friends Breena!) And they were quite delicious!
Ok, enough for now about NC - Lets hear it for TN! Since you are looking at this you probably only really want to know how the job is going. And I have to say that it is AMAZING! I am really enjoying it and still trying to get a few things under control. I have been really struggling with one of the girls that is in the house because I do not know how to approach her. She tends to get very angry easily and the other night she got really mad twice and I am pretty sure that both times were at me. However, if was because I told them that they could not do something and it upset her. I guess it just goes with the territory of being a mentor person.
I do not actually have time right now to continue on with stories from this week, but I have to mention that I do not have access to blogger (how i update this) at the ranch. So if I am able to make posts it will probably be on the weekends unless the IT person figures out how to unblock the page.
Ok, I'm off to buy a present make a key and watch people get married!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Hello wonderful friends!
Just so you know this is the same post that was on facebook, so if you have already, sorry! If not, YAY for me posting to the blog! Also I am leaving SUPER early tomorrow morning! So I will try to update tomorrow night - but not promises!
The past two years have been such a blessing, and I start with that because this journey did not start in January when I applied to get a job. I want to tell the amazing story of how God's hand was in this. In fall 2008, a friend of mine was asking me where I wanted to be after graduation... and for the life of me I still don't remember why I said this, but I said "I either want to be here (in Montreat) or not far over the boarder into TN."
Well God has a great sense of humor because that is where I am going! The next part of this story thought is about an amazing person that God brought into my life. For one of my classes last semester I needed a mentor. Someone to meet with every week and talk about like (as Doug Fields would say 'do life with'). When I heard about that the semester before the class started there was one person in particular that I wanted it to be, but I kept my mouth closed and waited for the semester to start before I asked her. When the semester started full force I was nervous to ask her, and then because of Shawn Stewart making it part of her job (ha ha) Breena and I started to meet on a weekly basis!Through out this year the two of us have met together once a week to talk about life. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We have spent time in the word learning from each other and teaching each other what God wants for our life... instead of what we want for our life. Toward the end of last semester Breena and Shawn were both really pushing me to start looking at jobs. When we actually sat down to talk about that I was scared out of my mind! Breena told me about what she did when she graduated from Montreat. As we began to talk about her experience I began to desire the same experiences. At first it was the same experiences that I was having throughout last summer at MLC, but then I realized that it would be different and more.
Through much prayer and a lot of encouragement from Breena and other friends of mine I filled out an application to be a mentor at Wears Valley Ranch in TN. Breena was a great encouragement when it got to the point that I didn't want to finish filling it out - even after Breena and I made our own deadline. Before sending in the application I had a few conversations with the secretary at the Ranch through email and when she received my application she contacted me and told me she got it and that she would tell me when the director of the resident program read it. Two weeks went by and I never heard anything. I was about to go to Chicago for the Group Youth Workers Convention so I decided that when I got back from Chicago if I hadn't gotten any word from them I would contact them and see what was going on.
One of the days that we were hanging out in Chicago we went to an art museum because it was free. As we were checking in our bags at the counter my phone rang and I didn't know who the number was so I answered. It was the director at Wears Valley. I placed the phone on mute for a second and then stood in a semi-private place and had one of the most awkward conversations EVER. I blame it to being over whelmed of being in Chicago and getting a call from him at the same time. During the conversation he mentioned that he was very impressed by my application and they wanted me to come out to visit the Ranch.
So on Monday of my spring break I headed up to the Ranch to check it out. The drive was less then awesome because I kept getting lost... the gps doesn't understand that I-40 is closed going into TN. Thankfully I have an awesome brother that is almost always somewhere near his computer. He helped me negative through some hilarious places such as Cherokee, NC. :) Anyway - I arrived at the Ranch around 6. Let just preface this by saying I was already impressed by what I heard about the Ranch and the visit did not let me down.
The first night I ate dinner with one of the houses and the girls asked me some fun questions as we got to know each other a little bit better. Oh right. The Ranch has four house two boys and two girls, in each house they have two house parents and two mentor/interns. It is a home for children that come from bad backgrounds, but they want something different... to make it simpler. So anyway - this 24 hour period that I was there I got to learn what it was like at the Ranch and talk to the people on the campus that run the programs and know all that goes on. I got the chance to talk to some of the mentors that are there now and what there experiences have been like.
The trip was absolutely amazing. I loved it so much. God was really faithful through the whole thing. During the rest period one of the girls even knitted me a book mark and a very little bag. It was super cute! As soon as I left I was ready for the phone call to talk about whether or not I wanted the job, however, I knew that it wouldn't be until later in the week. So the past two weeks have been another waiting period.
I began to worry that they didn't want me, but God is faithful because He put amazing people in my life to remind me that "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life everlasting" (John 10:10). I was worrying on Monday and on Tuesday, one of my classes ended up getting canceled and the director called me and offered me the job! AND I ACCEPTED! :)
So starting on June 4th I will be living in TN for the next year as an intern at Wears Valley Ranch! If you want to check it our more here is their website http://www.wvr.org/ :)
Please be praying for me during this time! Cause it will be anything but easy!
"'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'" Jeremiah 33:3
Just so you know this is the same post that was on facebook, so if you have already, sorry! If not, YAY for me posting to the blog! Also I am leaving SUPER early tomorrow morning! So I will try to update tomorrow night - but not promises!
The past two years have been such a blessing, and I start with that because this journey did not start in January when I applied to get a job. I want to tell the amazing story of how God's hand was in this. In fall 2008, a friend of mine was asking me where I wanted to be after graduation... and for the life of me I still don't remember why I said this, but I said "I either want to be here (in Montreat) or not far over the boarder into TN."
Well God has a great sense of humor because that is where I am going! The next part of this story thought is about an amazing person that God brought into my life. For one of my classes last semester I needed a mentor. Someone to meet with every week and talk about like (as Doug Fields would say 'do life with'). When I heard about that the semester before the class started there was one person in particular that I wanted it to be, but I kept my mouth closed and waited for the semester to start before I asked her. When the semester started full force I was nervous to ask her, and then because of Shawn Stewart making it part of her job (ha ha) Breena and I started to meet on a weekly basis!Through out this year the two of us have met together once a week to talk about life. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We have spent time in the word learning from each other and teaching each other what God wants for our life... instead of what we want for our life. Toward the end of last semester Breena and Shawn were both really pushing me to start looking at jobs. When we actually sat down to talk about that I was scared out of my mind! Breena told me about what she did when she graduated from Montreat. As we began to talk about her experience I began to desire the same experiences. At first it was the same experiences that I was having throughout last summer at MLC, but then I realized that it would be different and more.
Through much prayer and a lot of encouragement from Breena and other friends of mine I filled out an application to be a mentor at Wears Valley Ranch in TN. Breena was a great encouragement when it got to the point that I didn't want to finish filling it out - even after Breena and I made our own deadline. Before sending in the application I had a few conversations with the secretary at the Ranch through email and when she received my application she contacted me and told me she got it and that she would tell me when the director of the resident program read it. Two weeks went by and I never heard anything. I was about to go to Chicago for the Group Youth Workers Convention so I decided that when I got back from Chicago if I hadn't gotten any word from them I would contact them and see what was going on.
One of the days that we were hanging out in Chicago we went to an art museum because it was free. As we were checking in our bags at the counter my phone rang and I didn't know who the number was so I answered. It was the director at Wears Valley. I placed the phone on mute for a second and then stood in a semi-private place and had one of the most awkward conversations EVER. I blame it to being over whelmed of being in Chicago and getting a call from him at the same time. During the conversation he mentioned that he was very impressed by my application and they wanted me to come out to visit the Ranch.
So on Monday of my spring break I headed up to the Ranch to check it out. The drive was less then awesome because I kept getting lost... the gps doesn't understand that I-40 is closed going into TN. Thankfully I have an awesome brother that is almost always somewhere near his computer. He helped me negative through some hilarious places such as Cherokee, NC. :) Anyway - I arrived at the Ranch around 6. Let just preface this by saying I was already impressed by what I heard about the Ranch and the visit did not let me down.
The first night I ate dinner with one of the houses and the girls asked me some fun questions as we got to know each other a little bit better. Oh right. The Ranch has four house two boys and two girls, in each house they have two house parents and two mentor/interns. It is a home for children that come from bad backgrounds, but they want something different... to make it simpler. So anyway - this 24 hour period that I was there I got to learn what it was like at the Ranch and talk to the people on the campus that run the programs and know all that goes on. I got the chance to talk to some of the mentors that are there now and what there experiences have been like.
The trip was absolutely amazing. I loved it so much. God was really faithful through the whole thing. During the rest period one of the girls even knitted me a book mark and a very little bag. It was super cute! As soon as I left I was ready for the phone call to talk about whether or not I wanted the job, however, I knew that it wouldn't be until later in the week. So the past two weeks have been another waiting period.
I began to worry that they didn't want me, but God is faithful because He put amazing people in my life to remind me that "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life everlasting" (John 10:10). I was worrying on Monday and on Tuesday, one of my classes ended up getting canceled and the director called me and offered me the job! AND I ACCEPTED! :)
So starting on June 4th I will be living in TN for the next year as an intern at Wears Valley Ranch! If you want to check it our more here is their website http://www.wvr.org/ :)
Please be praying for me during this time! Cause it will be anything but easy!
"'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'" Jeremiah 33:3
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