For those of you who feel the title of this post is a bit melodramatic… well… it is. It’s also an allusion to the ND Vision musical starring Penny Prodigal. I was humming the tune on my walk into EECM on Tuesday morning. It’s quite catchy. : )
As for my first day, well, I survived and I felt the day was a success. I also felt remarkably like a chicken running around with her head cut off. I was calmer than the chicken, though, despite the fact that I probably had even less of an idea of where I was going.
It turns out that I am blessed with some amazing supervisors and co-workers. No matter how chaotic the day might be (and my first day was chaotic, even for the EECM food pantry), I can ask questions. The people I work with have great senses of humor, a whole lot of patience and a passion for what they do. It’s a great atmosphere to be in. It’s also reassuring to remember this when I’m dropped off at an entirely new building and told that the meeting I am supposed to attend is “probably” on the third floor (The meeting was on the third floor. I was an hour late. They were still happy to see me and get me introduced.).
The particulars of my job are still falling into place. I’m the first PULSEr to be devoted entirely to food and not splitting time with, say, homelessness. As such, I do not have a desk or anything else resembling a home base. I store my bag in Ms. Phyllis’ office, and spent most of my first day following the amazing Ms. Phyllis around like. Today, I did a little more hands-on work, preparing the bags for Meals on Wheels, chasing down some details of a program to which we may refer clients and processing some paperwork. All of this was done in the morning, because on Wednesdays I go back to the house for Seminar in the afternoons.
For our first Seminar, we PULSErs wrote up our covenant for community living. We also may have named our house… more info on that as it solidifies. : )
All in all, I am quite happy with how my placement is going, even though I think it’s going to very consistently wear me out. College friends and roommates would be SHOCKED to know that at almost 10:30, I now consider myself up past my bedtime. I am glad to know I am working hard for something I really believe in.
On that note, thank you for all the prayers and support you have given me! I was given a bit of advice on my first day that really resonated. “If you are here for ministry, then you’ve got a chance. If you are here for social work, you are going to burn out. You have got to remember that Jesus Christ is your boss. You work for Him.” Please pray that I remember to draw my strength from the One who is strong when I am weak, confused and running around like a headless chicken…
I hope that you all are weathering the changing seasons, the return to school and whatever else September brings you. : ) Keep in touch.
the green notebook 