"i want to go to iowa with you!"

yes, the title of this entry comes from my favorite kid, tyler. he's in 5th grade [maybe 6th?] and i absolutely love him. along with his friend artilus, the two of them quickly approved of me and gave me a hug every time they walked into my class. i was pretty impressed, considering they were kinda getting to that age where they're 'too cool' and usually dont act as if they like their teachers. anyway, i was really sad last week when it was my last day having them in class. they gave me hugs and said they'd miss me, etc. i asked tyler if he lived in cary, because if he did, he should stop by our house sometime so i can go outside and play with him. unfortunately, he lives in anguilla, which is about 15 minutes north of cary. well it so happens that he was staying with his cousin tonight in cary, and i saw him playing outside next to our house. we got to hanging out, took a few pictures together [finally!], and talked about his day. when i asked him how it went, he replied with: "sad because i didn't get to see my favorite teacher." he also got really sad when we discussed me leaving in a couple weeks, and he told me he wants to go to iowa with me. when i said i would love that and i could sneak him into my back pack to fly home with me, he said "rachel! i'm not joking, i really want to go with you!" its moments like those that i remember why i'm here...


today was relatively busy. we begin each day with staff devotions at 8:00, and classes start around 8:45. i started the morning with the pre-k and kindergartners, and by the time i was with the 2nd graders, they seemed very mature! overall the day was a pretty typical one- played 'mother may i?', 'what time is it, mr fox?' and 'steal the bacon.' in the afternoon, i worked on some math and reading with the middle school boys, as well as played basketball with them. yes.... my job is wonderful. and its okay to be jealous :) some of the women that work at cary christian center have also started doing a 6 week dvd bible study led by priscilla shirer, beth moore and kay arthur, so we had that this evening. the homework isn't too intense but still requires time every day, and i love meeting with the other women once a week.. its been a huge blessing. there was a community meeting after our bible study, which was pretty neat. around 35 people from the town showed up, and it was neat to see how the people want to take steps towards organizing and developing cary into a 'better' community. they made a list of things they want to improve upon or add to the town, and it consisted of items such as health and wellness, employment, community center, recreation, beautification, etc. there will hopefully be committees created at the next meeting so more specific steps can be taken. please keep this community in your prayers!


i don't think i mentioned this in my first post, but i got to go fishing last night! i said one time i had never gone before, so robert [a man who works in the volunteer ministry at ccc] offered to take geri, amanda, and i out fishing with him and his wife sometime before we left. we drove to lake washington, which is about 30 minutes away from cary- and absolutely beautiful! unfortunately i didn't catch anything [robert and his wife both caught catfish], i can officially say i've been fishing :) check that one off the list!

i'll try to post again tomorrow and add a few more details as to some of the thoughts i've had and other things we've done these past 4 weeks. until then- life is good and God is good.

bless and be blessed.

new blog- yay! i'm going to add all the details [about me, maybe a new template, etc] later but i'm just excited to finally start journaling about my experience here in mississippi. there's already been so much that i've learned and had to process so far, and while ive been down here for 4 weeks and only have 2 and a half left.... better late than never, right? :)

this first entry will just be a quick overview because as i've learned this past month, i need sleep at night! while my job is fun, i'm pretty tired by the end of the day. anyway, let me give a background of what i'm even doing this summer for those of you who don't know. i am doing a 6[ish] week internship at the cary christian center in cary, mississippi. it is an extremely small community that is north of jackson. the whole process of me coming here started early on this past year [sometime around february i think]. after a long chain of events, i ended up having a few different discussions with dave nonnemacher, an amazing faculty member at northwestern, who visited cary with a few other fellow northwesterners. he encouraged me to do a vocare internship, sponsored by the lilly grant, and he strongly believed cary was the right place for me. i didnt have any definite plans for the summer and had just kinda been waiting for God to place something before me, and before i knew it, this is what He had given me. and because i am who i am, i agreed to do this internship without looking into it very much. i found out later that amanda maloney and geri genant [2 girls who just graduated from nwc] were also coming down here- geri accepted a full time job at CCC for 1-2 years, and amanda is completing this internship with the possibility of staying and finding a job for the next year. i have been so grateful for their friendship and having them as roommates!

anyway, the internship is focused on christian community development- ccda.org for more info :) it is an amazing concept, introduced by john perkins, and consists of truly living with the poor and becoming part of their community [that is probably the briefest and most vague definition i could give you]. cary is a town of only about 300 people, with many of them being african americans living in poverty. while i'm here, i will be working at the summer program and leading a recreation/phys ed/fitness class- perfect for me! my first 3 weeks were with the 3rd-6th graders and my last 3 weeks [beginning tomorrow] are with the pre k-2nd graders. i also spend my afternoons with the middle school guys and girls. there are probably about 200 kids in the program, all who i will have in class by the end.. and let me tell you, there are some very unique names to learn!

without going into much details, ill explain what else we've been doing while down here. amanda and i arrived on june 2 [geri had been here for a few days already] and the first weekend we spent here in cary, relaxing and enjoying our beautiful home given for us to use this summer [an elderly couple actually lives here 9 months out of the year, but go back to south dakota during the hot summer months- the house was just finished being built in may, and they graciously are allowing us to live here until they get back!]. the summer program started on june 8.. the second weekend, the 3 of us girls went to new orleans and long beach/gulfport to visit some friends and enjoy a wonderful day at the beach. the next weekend was in jackson, where we attended a rally and then a strategic meeting for what actions to take in the delta [led by john perkins- he rode with us from the rally to jackson, which took a couple hours. quick facts about jp: his mom died of starvation, his brother died of a racial situation, he has almost been beaten to death multiple times in his life, and he has every reason to hate white people- yet he loves all people and loves God more than anyone i've ever met]. and then this past weekend we went back to jackson to meet some friends for a baseball game, and then got more time to relax.

i will definitely expand more on everything that has been going on down here next time i write- which should hopefully be soon! i have 3 things i want to accomplish each day: hip hop abs, my devotions, and now journaling. my roommates are keeping me accountable for the first two, but feel free to help out with the third :) God has blessed me so much while being down here, and i am so grateful for the people i have met and the love of Christ i see in each of them. i have developed a heart for this community... it makes me sad that so many people are unaware of the situations going on in a place like cary. please keep the mississippi delta, particularly cary, in your prayers daily.

love you all!