I Can See Clearly Now

Aaah, what a day. So today was the much anticipated intern paint project day. What's really great about our jobs is that we get to get our hands in a lot of different departments. Basically, wherever they need us we go. And today they needed us to paint things in the Muddy Creek Lodge which is Summer Staff/Work Crew/Assign Team housing and also the new Washboard and meeting space and all kinds of stuff. It is a beautiful building and one of our big capital projects right now, so it was fun to get in there and see all the stuff being done.

One wing of the building is completely done and already housed the Summer Staff and Work Crew this summer. The other half with the meeting space and the new Washboard and stuff is still very much in progress. Young Life only builds with cash on hand, so when we run out of money for a project, the project stops. No loans. So right now, we have a beautiful big new room with hook-ups and everything for the Washboard which would mean that we would get to move out of the Sports Center and take the giant laundry carts out of the sight of guests. But we can't use it because we don't have the money to finish it. It's definitely hard, but the Lord's faithfulness and people's generosity continues to impress us and we always end up with what we need. We'll be in our new Washboard soon, I'm sure.

Anyway, back to the day. We all headed to the MCL at 8:00 and met up with Korey and Mark. Korey is basically running the show at the MCL and he's very fun. Everyone seems to have such crazy stories about how they ended up here and it's so fun to get to hear them all. So it was good to get to know him a little.

Mandi and I paired up and got our color (Bamboo Beach) and set out to find the walls we were to paint. We started in a little elevator alcove and then moved to a giant meeting room where we spent most of the day. It was so fun having everyone working together and even more fun to get to experience the maintenance guys' lives for a day. I really think maintenance would be the most fun job. They get to do a little bit of everything and they learn so much stuff, like how to wire phones and how to fix a Coke machine. But they also have to do the trash, so I guess it's a trade-off.

We had an ops lunch today and learned about our group for the weekend. They're a college ministry called Northwest Collegiate Ministries, so another new age group. Good news for me is that college kids do not get up early for espresso so we have a free-time open and late-night espresso. So I get to sleep in! I love the Sassy.

After work, we had small group at Jen's. Last week was our first one, but I was gone for it which was a total bummer. I think it's going to be great, although I am a dominant talker so I probably need to scale that back a little. We're reading Celebration of Discipline which I was a little pissed about but I think is going to really challenge my "get out of the box" crusade, which I sometimes take to far. So, the Lord's making me spend months reading and discussing a conservative how-to book. Funny how that works.

After small group, we had our first intern worship which was also great. Although again, I am a very loud singer and other people here are not really getting too into it. I'm hoping that will change but I think that they're all just not singers. Which is unfortunate because I'm not going to stop singing loud and sometimes I get off-key. So I'm gonna be that girl who nobody wants to sit by because she gets them off-key. I've resigned myself to my inevitable fate.

Steve, who is our Director of Development, came to talk to us a little about his job and his views on fundraising and how we go about it in the organization. It was really great to talk to him and get his perspective on why we fundraise and how we go about it. He talked a lot about how organizations often see the donation as the end game, but we see the donor as the end game. Our goal is to encourage people to join in something that we see as life-changing. We believe that being involved in this mission is something that brings you closer to the heart of the Lord. We want to show people what we're working for and inspire them to be a part of it. I don't know if I was able to relate it well, but he is a really cool guy and he has some great vision for development. Also, before he worked for YL, he worked at a paper company. He was the Michael Scott of Portland. I feel so much cooler now that I actually know a paper executive.

The day was good. I feel like we are on an up-swing after the drama of the past few days. I feel like we are drawing closer to each other, but more importantly, I feel like our focus is being renewed. We're beginning to be comfortable to be who we really are and to love each other for that. For the first time since I got here, I'm really, truly excited about the work we're going to do here. And I hope you're excited about reading about it!

I love you all!