This afternoon I was scheduled to meet with my mentor, Penny. However around lunch, I received a phone call informing me that Penny was not feeling well and had to postpone. I was a bit bummed about this development because I enjoy meeting with Penny and it was too late for me to meet up with some YAGM in London. So I was left with a free afternoon with really no idea how to spend it, but a little bit later I received a message from the woman who was the Youth Ministry Assistant (MA) last year asking me if I would like to meet her for tea. I accepted and within the hour we were sitting in her living room talking about whatever popped into our minds.
It was an afternoon well spent. What I thought would be maybe an hour spent getting to know a new friend better turned into a full evening filled with having dinner with a church family, playing with ten week old Labrador puppy, and watching the Children in Need special on BBC. It was not how I had imagined my Friday afternoon going, but it was one of those days where plans came apart yet everything you needed happened.
Today I am thankful for postponed plans and opportunities to deepen new friendships.
 |
| Pudsey Bear is the mascot for the Children in Need. Because of Pudsey and the family I was with today, I was educated on British pop culture. Photo credit: BBC |
November 15
This afternoon we had our weekly YAGM Google Hangout, and because not everyone can make it on Friday afternoons, we changed this week to Saturday. This weekend has been the weekend where nothing goes according to plan, so quite a few people could not make it during the normal time which meant it was moved to a later time period. (This was great for me because I had gone to the craft store to find some supplies for our youth club this Friday.) At the brand new time, I joined the video chat to find it was only myself and the three YAGM in Edinburgh (who were all hanging out together at the time). We started talking when all of a sudden, Sarah, a UK YAGM alumnus, joins the chat all the way from the US.
She apologizes for only being available for a few minutes as she was working on a group project for school, but continues on to ask us for a three sentence update on our lives as YAGM and something that she can pray about for us. We frantically update her and hear her update, and before she signed off she imparted upon us some fantastic, comforting advice about spending Christmas abroad and away from our families. It was a relief to hear someone honestly say how much it will suck, but it was also a relief to hear about what we will learn from this holiday season from someone who had been in the same situation as us. All in all, it never ceases to amaze me how much the YAGM alumni are invested in us and are willing to talk to us about our challenges.
Today I am thankful to be a part of the YAGM family and the amazing alumni who have come before us.
 |
| The UK YAGM at our "Disorientation" destination in Chicago with some of the YAGM alumni. Photo credit: Paige |
No comments:
Post a Comment