RESTORATION

The Lord works in mysterious ways…at exactly the right time.
After a particularly trying group of participants I was feeling the wear and tear of living in another country, communicating in another language, and being responsible for what is the highlight of many teenagers’ summers. I missed PROCESSING, I missed CONVERSATIONS, I missed FRIENDS, and I missed HEARING GOD speak into my life. I felt tired and very alone. My body was crying out for rest and my spirit was crying out for attention. This was God’s response:
- On Friday evening I got to talk to my supervisor and friend for an hour.
- On Friday night I spent 3 hours connecting with friends and family from home.
- On Saturday morning I had the opportunity to journal while I waited for my laundry.
- On Saturday afternoon I got to have a great conversation with one of our community partners for a few hours.
- On Saturday evening I was able to feel like part of a family as we watched the Arecibo basketball team win the championship with some community friends.
- On Sunday morning we sang these words…
o “RAIN DOWN / MY SOUL IS THIRSTY / BUT ILL KEEP SINGING / RAIN ON ME…”
o “I WILL CALL YOU / AND YOU WILL ANSWER / IN AN INSTANT YOU ARE AT MY SIDE / THERE IS NO ONE LIKE YOU IN THE WHOLE WORLD…”
…and tears poured down my face
- After service the pastor’s wife prayed for God’s strength and restoration to empower me
- Sunday afternoon a friend from another YouthWorks! site called me just to pray with me before our groups showed up for the next week
- Our group didn’t arrive until late so my staff and I had enough time to prepare and feel really on top of things for a GREAT start to the week!
I’ve told several people that this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. But I’ve also learned firsthand that God will not ask us to do anything we are not equipped for. No matter how many times I have to reach into the depths of myself to find those remaining smiles and chipper mornings, I will never run dry…y signo cantando! I keep singing!

To Know About Driving in Puerto Rico

• It’s okay to park in the middle of an entrance ramp if you’re grabbing dinner to go at Wendy’s
• Shoulder = extra lane
• Flashing stoplight = free for all – the bigger you are the better chance you have of getting through the intersection
• If there is no color lit up…just assume it’s your green
• Honking is how you communicate everything – “Of course you can merge in front of me!” “You just cut me off!” “Hey, it’s my buddy from high school!” “Don’t back out of your driveway.” “I’ll take 3 mangos while I’m waiting for this stoplight!” “Oops…my hand slipped…”

Catching up...What in the world am I doing here???

I want the joy of the Lord to be the first thing people notice about me!
I want God’s love to be what people remember about me!
I want the peace of the Holy Spirit to be what people experience with me!
I don’t want them to remember Adrienne, from YouthWorks! I want them to remember God’s presence in Puerto Rico.

Bienvenidos a Puerto Rico!!!

It’s been 9 days since I first touched down on the island of Puerto Rico. After much uncertainty this spring on how to spend my summer, I accepted a position as a Site Director with Youthworks!
What is YouthWorks?? It’s an incredible short-term missions organization dedicated to “providing life-changing, Christ-centered youth mission opportunities.” There is a special place in my heart for YouthWorks’ purpose because 5 years ago on my first missions trip it did just that, as for the first time I heard God calling me to something: leadership. It was during the following year that I received the call also to youth and to overseas missions, but YouthWorks was the vessel for that first step.
Now, combining all three of those passions, I find myself in the position to be a part of life-changing experiences in other students’ lives this summer. It is my responsibility to ensure that my site in Arecibo, Puerto Rico runs smoothly; that my three incredible staff members are enabled to do their jobs well; and that our relationships with partners in the community grow stronger and healthier throughout the summer. The next few months will be a fun mix of opportunities to be involved in kid’s lives, work on service projects, and organize things as I bounce around between my staff’s ministry sites and my administrative responsibilities.
Last week and this week is a time for us to set up our site and begin getting to know people here in this incredible, relationship-oriented culture. It’s been exciting already to see God stretching me through things like the necessity of speaking Spanish and leading a staff team who is just as outgoing and energetic as myself.

Smells like SPRING!

Some people laugh at me, but I can smell the seasons. You may not have thought about it, but I bet you can too ;-)
Let's face it: Spring smells like mud and worms, and it's awesome.
Winter smells like water and COLD (yes, it has a smell...)
Fall smells like trees and leaves.
...and Summer, oh beautiful summer...just smells like happiness :-) (and sunscreen, if you like that kind of thing)

This afternoon will see my first outside run of the season. And I can't stop smiling :-)
Get out there and take a walk! Go for a run! Or at least open the windows!

Health, Wealth, and Relationships

Sitting with some friends tonight, the question arose: "What is most important in life - health, wealth, or relationships?"
Some felt that health was the most important - "without health, you will die" was the argument, and then what good would any of the others be?
However, there were also those who felt that relationships have an effect on your health, so if the relationships die the health goes anyway...
BUT, without money, will people be willing to have relationships with you? and could you afford to have good health?
My opinion? Wealth - it's important to be financially responsible, and it gives people a certain security to feel they have that "suitcase under the bed", but is that really where I want my identity? Health - Honestly, I take my health for granted because there is nothing physically wrong with me, but I still would choose to be surrounded by people who love me if I was in the midst of a medical crisis.
I believe that healthy relationships are the most important of these three. Now, when I think of the word "relationships" I think of my family and my friends. Above all else, if I am building relationships that are held together by the love of God, I think the other areas of my life will be healthy as well.
As the conversation progressed, it became obvious that different people had different definitions of certain words. When we said "relationships" did we mean family and friends or boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse? When we said "health" did we mean physical, mental or overall?
Different definitions led to different answers, and different backgrounds led to different priorities, but for myself I was reminded more and more that the most important thing was my relationship with my Father and Savior, and to let Him guide me through these other areas of life.
Which is most important to you?

I keep forgetting...

...that I need to count on an alarm, rather than roosters to give me an early start to the day...
...toilet paper goes in the TOILET...
...there is no need to check the bathroom for cockroaches before I set anything down...

It was snowing when I got up this morning - just a friendly reminder that my days of passing every minute outside are over for the time-being. I guess I could sit outside in the snow if I really wanted to...
The past week has been full with saying goodbye to my DR travel-partners and reconnecting with friends and family.
Once we arrived in the Dominican Republic back in September, we went through orientation as we became familiar with the DR culture. Just last week, before we left the DR, we went through some debriefing as we prepared to adjust back into Bethel life and the American culture. We affectionately named this time period "dis-orientation". Let's just say culture shock hits a lot harder when you go backwards.
While I know it will continue to take time in order to feel comfortable here again, I'm loving being with my family and catching up on all that I missed during the last few months.
My philosophy: jump right in the middle of what scares me if I really want to get through culture shock...or should I say climate shock this time??