I am finally around internet long enough with enough free time to actually post another update for those who are interested in what I am doing. I arrived in Oklahoma City about two weeks ago. I almost wrote one week. I am constantly humbled by the wonderful people in this conference, and because of that I feel like my time here has been way shorter then it actually has been. Some days I feel like I have been here for a very long time. However it has been a really fun time being down here and learning a new way to live on my own again, in a new place. It is also a weird concept to remember that if i needed to get home I would have to plan it out and it would take a lot of travel time to get home, but being the optimistic person I am, this concept kind of adds to the adventure of being down here. However, it sucks to not have any Safeway's down here because I feel like I can't find anything I need or usually buy from the grocery store.
Anyway, my job. I have to come up with my own job title so we can make some simple business cards and we cant seem to come up with anything so far except "Divine Awesomeness". But I don't think that many people will understand what that means except for me. Anyway, I am working to put together an after school program for Hispanic/Latino students in the northern part of Oklahoma City. The drop out rate is really high as well as the Hispanic community in the city so together with St. Johns UMC and Church of the Servant (also a UMC) we are hoping to grow the congregation of St. Johns and help students after school and hopefully keep them in school. However, I get to come up with the plan, talk with the principle and teachers and more or less start this with volunteers and support from the surrounding churches. Its kind of overwhelming because it is pretty much on my shoulders, but at the same time I am super excited to see where it goes. Like my supervisor Carlos always reminds me of, "Its great because you are the first, but its unfortunate because you are the first".
I have noticed that this area of the world is a lot more relaxed then Seattle in many respects. For instance its the weirdest thing, when the light turns green, it takes about 5-10 seconds or more for many of the cars to go. I always feel like I'm jumping the gun. But on the other side of things, the highways seems to be super speedy. Its a very interesting place. One of these days I plan to get some pics of the beautiful sunset. Since it is so flat around here you can see the sun all the way until it sets on the horizon. The sun is a blazing orange with beautiful reds and oranges around the setting sun. I am always captivated by it every time I see it. Its unfortunate that a beautiful place like Oklahoma (never thought I would say that) would be so torn by natural disasters. I feel like I am always comparing here to Seattle, but the only thing that would make an impact in Seattle would be rain or an earthquake which can cause damage but not every year. I haven't seen much of the tornado path, but its quite unfortunate that every year there is such a threat to this area and there isn't much that can be done about it.
Anyway, to sum up my long/short two weeks here in the beautiful OKC, I love it. My work is quite fun! Yesterday, I did some work online and got to hang out the the office with many of the other people in the congregation, they are such a hoot. At St. Johns there is an older couple who remembered my name the second time they met me and they remind me of the couple in the swiffer commercials. Just a darling couple! I will add a link on here to my bio page on the Global Ministries page. It has info more about what I am doing and my advance number to help support me and future Missionaries doing great work around the US and around the World.
http://www.umcmission.org/Explore-Our-Work/Missionaries-in-Service/Missionary-Profiles/Thorson--Kristina
Well, that's all for now folks!!!
God Bless!!
ISAIAH 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Who should I send? Who will go for Us? I said: Here I am. Send me.
Hey Kristina! My name is Elisabeth Danielsons, and I'm serving as a US-2 in Dallas, TX. I was catching up on the new class of blogs and came upon yours. I'm glad you are having a good time in your placement site. I was excited to see that you are starting an after school program. I'm working with an awesome organization called Project Transformation which has summer and after school programs in low income neighborhoods. There is a Project Transformation in Oklahoma as well. I would love to talk to you sometime about what you're doing and help where I can. You can email me at danielsons@projecttransformation.org or find me on Facebook. Have a great evening!!!
ReplyDeleteHello Kristina! This is Celeste Deveney from your home church in Bothell, WA. It's good to know that you've arrived safely and are settling into life in your new community. Did you know that Bothell UMC had an afternoon program similar to the one you're starting? We started and ran it successfully for years about a decade ago. An after-school program can be a real blessing to a community that needs effective homework help as well as after-school care. You're in our thoughts and prayers as you start something new in your new home!
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