First Month Reflections

I knew this job was going to be unlike one I have ever had, but I don’t think I really understood the caliber of working at the Dale House Project.

I can honestly say it has been one of the toughest months of my life: adjusting back into the USA, moving away from my family and adorable niece and nephew, watching Allan get on an airplane to go 1,675 miles away, missing Honey Cate's birthday party, being away from my family during my Daddy’s head injury recuperation, learning my way around CO Springs, trying to understand what exactly my job entails, figuring out how to build relationships with these kids while having to be like a parent and hold them accountable, and just wrestling with feelings of loneliness/confusion/insufficiency in the midst of knowing this is where the Lord has called me.

There is so much hurt present here at the DHP. Just to name one…the average number of different “system” placements a resident at the DHP has been in before coming to the DHP is 13! Can you imagine living in 13 different places, with 13 different people “taking care” of you? And that’s just the average. I am learning so much about the value of consistency and parenting being here. What a rare and special gift I have in my family.

Amidst the sadness, there is success: a kid enjoying decorating staff members, or getting a small present from Santa during our celebration of Christmas in July, a kid getting a job at Denny’s, a kid showing off their skills at the skate park, a kid sharing a poem they have written about the hurt they have encountered in their life, a kid praying at dinner time, a kid turning down the music in the car to talk to me, laughing with girls before bed time, a kid teaching me how to play a new game of dominos (but getting beat all the time!)

One of the great aspects of the DHP is the emphasis placed on community. The permanent staff encourage and demonstrate the importance of caring for each other and they care for us so well. Every Monday and Thursday we meet as a whole staff for devotions and prayer. I love this time together to hear from each other and learn from each other. We also took a 6 mile hike UP Pike’s Peak (14,110 feet above sea level and the 2nd most visited mountain after Mt. Fuji!) We had to stay together. My boss said “If you want to hike it quickly…it will be here tomorrow!” The goal was team unity and team building. I just love that aspect! I’m also super pumped that my awesome friend Stephanie Pitt is here with me to share in this experience!

There is so much more I could write about, but I’ll leave some for later! Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I am eager to receive more of the Lord this year and just yearning for his presence to be a real, constant thing for me. I am so convinced of the power of the Holy Spirit and desire to live in that. I am also sure that the Lord wants to fill the spots where I feel empty during my time here and I want to allow Him to do that! I read this from Henri Nouwen this morning, and it just seemed perfect for what I am feeling now.

Our Poverty, God's Dwelling Place
How can we embrace poverty as a way to God when everyone around us wants to become rich? Poverty has many forms. We have to ask ourselves: "What is my poverty?" Is it lack of money, lack of emotional stability, lack of a loving partner, lack of security, lack of safety, lack of self-confidence? Each human being has a place of poverty. That's the place where God wants to dwell! "How blessed are the poor," Jesus says (Matthew 5:3). This means that our blessing is hidden in our poverty.
We are so inclined to cover up our poverty and ignore it that we often miss the opportunity to discover God, who dwells in it. Let's dare to see our poverty as the land where our treasure is hidden.