Once again 3 months have passed since my last update, and oh my goodness, what an eventful 3 months it has been! In some ways it hardly seems possible that I've been here for 3 months and yet when I think about all that has taken place it feels like a whooooooole lot longer than 3 months. As I tell everyone who asks how things are going...."there is never a dull moment around here!".
It's a bit difficult to sum up the last few months, but I will try my best. Maybe if I updated this blog more frequently I wouldn't have this problem! I'm afraid I will never learn. :)
Because I like lists... here's a list of Ruth Harbor happenings and other bits and pieces of life:
recognizing the awesome privilege I have had to love and impact 5 girls so far.
They drive me crazy. I love them.
3 young women living in the house currently.
One moved back home. I still keep in touch with her through text messaging. :)
One is in the hospital due to complications with her pregnancy and is on bed rest. Please, please pray for this sweet girl and for us as we continue to serve her
emotional rollercoaster
a good bit of laughter
a lot of learning
a lot of missing home, missing friends, and missing Ryan
new church
a few good cries
a growing respect for these young women who are brave enough to come live in a house with people they don't know and give up some of their freedoms.
a tremendous amount of trusting God for patience, endurance, compassion and wisdom.
single parenting at the age of 26.... 4-5 girls between the ages of 14 and 20.
lots and lots of time spent in the mini van with 4-5 lives on board. make that 8-10 lives....
endless questions about pregnancy.....which I usually don't know the answers to. :)
pushed out of the comfort zone
making meals for picky eaters :)
heart to heart chats
raging pregnancy hormones
more missing home
missing my cat
coffee. I'm addicted.
frustration
discouragement
weariness
reminding myself that I am not pregnant and don't need to eat everytime the girls eat :)
meeting awesome, encouraging people who assist in keeping me sane
putting miles on my car. Lets just say that the roads between Des Moines, Davenport and Dubuque will be well traveled.
fun visitors!
doctor's appointments
did I mention driving?
heart wrenching situations
enjoying my own little apartment
increasing thankfulness for my parents and the way they raised me
It's very difficult to explain to people what it is that I do as a house parent. Honestly....there's no way to really know or fully grasp it unless you experience it yourself. No amount of training could've prepared me for this. I never know what the day is going to be like. Some nights I go to bed with my spirits lifted and feeling encouraged and other nights I just want to let the tears fall. I am challenged every single day. My heart is broken every day over these girls. Each one of them has a unique and difficult situation that they are working through when they come to us. Do they always want to be here? no. Do they sometimes have attitudes? yes. Do they always like me? nope. Do they always follow instructions, and get along, and make my life easy? of course not. haha. Despite all that, I can truly say that I love each one of them. I pray that I will have the attitude of Christ and a true servant's heart. I want my motive to be that of seeing God glorified and not myself. He is the reason I'm here.
Please pray for me and the rest of the staff here at Ruth Harbor, as well as the girls we are ministering to and the precious lives they are carrying. Satan is not happy when a ministry is growing and great things are happening. It is a battle, but it's also a comfort to know that God is far more powerful!
Here are some specific prayer requests:
provision of jobs for the girls (it's a tough time for that!)
healthy pregnancies
peace for the girls concerning the future and what happens after the baby is born
teachable spirits
for the girls as they have so many things weighing heavily on their minds, and a lot of decisions to make
patience and endurance for the house parents
