One of the major things that we have been working on is the Hillcrest apartment that our church is sponsoring. Hillcrest is a transitional housing organization in Kansas City that brings people from various life situations into their program for 90 days and during this time they are given a place to live, budget training, job skills training, etc. Ted and I, with the help of many in our church, have been working to get an apartment ready for a new family.
It has involved: painting, trying to find furniture to put in the apartment, cleaning (including an amazing job I did with the oven), and basic maintenance. This weekend we are having an open house for people in the church to come by and see - I'll be sure to take more pictures.
Life (for me, Sarah) has been occupied for reading, writing papers, and trying to graduate! Thankfully the end is in sight as I only have 1 book left to finish and 3 papers to write. Whew! However, by next Tuesday it will all be done! Amazing, I am not exactly sure where the last 4 years have gone but extremely thankful for the professors that have influenced me, books that have challenged me, and life experiences that have shaped and will continue to shape me. It is amazing to see the ways that God has encouraged, strengthened, challenged, and shaped me through professors, family, friends, and places.One of the classes that I have had the privilege of being apart of this past semester is Sacraments and Asceticism - it has caused me to ask certain questions of life, both mine personally and the life of the Church. One of the major topics of the class has been food and the relationship between food and eating and our spirituality (there are some great books on this topic if anyone is interested). So, as a part of our class Dr. Hardy had the class over to his house for a potluck and a garden planting. He and his family have decided to plant a garden this summer and our class participated in planting. At the close of the time, we gathered around the garden and sang, read Scriptures about planting/sowing, and closed in blessing the garden.
It is an overcast day in Kansas City today and even with the allergies and gusts of wind (which can apparently cancel the fireworks at the Royals game, boo!) I am incredibly thankful for spring. The bright red, yellow, and purple tulips that I see all over Kansas City remind me that new life is possible and that there is hope in the midst of darkness and doubt. They remind me that we are in the season of Easter, a time to rejoice and remember our risen Lord.
