Things I'd Like Everyone to Know...

If I had the courage to tell you, and I thought there was a possibility of making myself rightly understood, I'd tell you that:


You are a gift from God to the world. And to me, in particular. You were made, knit together, before time was time. With Love. With Purpose.

You are broken, but God works through your brokenness to heal others. And through the brokenness of others to heal you.We find grace and wisdom and discover our own belovedness in our solidarity.

You are beautiful. Even in your brokenness you are whole. You are not your flaws. You are not what you do, or what you have, or what you know, or what other people say about you. You are a child of God, and as such are uniquely, wonderfully beautiful.

And you're never alone.

Much Love,
Gina

______________________________
"Therefore that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, "My Grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell within me." 2 Cor 12:7-9

It Is What It Is, It Is What You Make It.

A theme that keeps cropping up for me is, "It is what it is, it is what you make it." A girl I met on my orientation liked that line a lot, and considered it her mantra, I suppose.

We had a group of 60 older women here last week. They were an interesting bunch. The kissy, tree-hugger types. "Druids" some of them called themselves. They weren't Catholic- in fact, some of them hid their Bibles in their closets, not being able to suffer its presence. Each of them seemed to be a different kind of quirky, but the one thing they all had in common was that they wanted coffee at 4 in the morning. I was willing to compromise with the hour, and at 5 o'clock the other day, I began making pots of coffee. By 8:30 I had easily made 18 pots and restocked the creamer 6 times.They consumed about as fast as I produced.

It is what it is.

Some days I'm going to be here sweeping, doing dishes, directing parking lot traffic, re-filling ketchup bottles, and making enough coffee to fill a swimming pool. I sometimes feel like it's a waste of my talents and that it snuffs out the excitement and energy I have for projects that right now only exist in theory, but... it is what it is. It has to be done.

It's a lot harder to do all things for the greater glory of God than I imagined. The monotony of making coffee... I suppose someone with more discipline could turn it into a prayerful meditation, or an exercise in thanksgiving- "Lord, thank you for this healthy body, without which I may not be able to repeatedly pour cup after steaming cup of liquid caffeine and without which I would not be able to open and close, open and close, open and close the necessary cabinets that house the creamer and sugar packets." Right now, though, all I have workin' for me is obedience. I do it because I am told to do it. In that way, I suppose, I am loving God.

I sometimes struggle to find love and joy in my day-to-day activities, but the possibility of deepening my relationship with God keeps me going. In these somewhat boring, monotonous, and menial tasks,  I am being given a unique opportunity to grow in patience, humility, gentleness, and positivity. I yearn constantly for the ability to find God in all things. If, by the end of the year, I can feel love radiating from that coffee pot I so fervently avoid, I will consider my time here a great success.

I thank God for Colleen very often. She seems to possess a lot of those attitudes that I hope to adopt. She is a lot better at saying and doing only those things that bring her joy- that are life giving. When Colleen and I have a long day and I think we're both about to go blow off some steam by running our mouths, she proves me wrong. I end up pouring out my frustrations and incredulities as she listens. And then I feel bad for having made her struggles with serenity even harder. I can tell she shares similar worries, but she prefers to concentrate only on the good. The possibility of growth that each struggle affords us. The greater purpose of our challenges.

I am trying to be more like that. I already feel that I have had a small amount of success, but I cannot settle for where I am now. Sr. Grace once said to me, "God loves us just the way we are, but because He loves us, He will not allow us to stay the way we are." I think of those words often. May Colleen and I and all of you pray for the Grace to find God where our hearts, minds, and bodies struggle the most to find and take comfort in HIM.

Blessings,
Gina

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Another Video

Colleen and I spent a half an hour trying to throw two absurdly heavy deer statues into the dumpster. This is the abbreviated version.

Bye Bye Bambi

Love,
Gina

Say "Hello" to the North Midwest- Chicago, Milwaukee, and Notre Dame!!!

Friends,

My director asked Colleen and I to represent Cabrini Mission Corps at a series of service fairs in the North Midwest. On Monday we went to DePaul here in Chicago. Those kids had absolutely no idea that there was a service fair going on, and those that approached us were only interested in our basket of candy. It's all about Twix bars at DePaul.

Next we drove up to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and stayed overnight with a former missioner, Laura. Laura was a great tour guide of the area- she took us to a cheese CASTLE, at which I purchased cheese curds (and where I, in fact, learned what a cheese curd was) that squeek when you eat them, some "chocolate cheese fudge," and some famous Wisconsin rootbeer. Turns out, the "cheese fudge" is really just fudge, but instead of being made with milk it's made with cheese, which makes it a LOT creamier. .... mmm... We ended our time in Kenosha with a quick stop at a famous frozen custard joint.

Then we went to see lake Michigan from the Wisconsin side before we headed over to Milwaukee and Marquette University.

I didn't see any cows in Wisconsin, but I DID see a hell of a lot of 'em in Indiana, where we went next. We went over to St. Mary's College and then the University of Notre Dame. Those kids were a lot more fun to talk to. The St. Mary's and Notre Dame students were much more prepared and interested in service than the kids from DePaul or Marquette. Some had even heard of Mother Cabrini! WIN!

Colleen taught me how to use cruise control- I've never been happier. :D

The Notre Dame fair had more than 70 organizations represented. Our table was set up along Francis Corps and the Good Shepherd Volunteers. The greatest thing about the little service fair "tour" was that a lot of the same people from the other volunteer programs came to all of them. We made good friends with a Notre Dame alumna, Amy of the Christian Appalachian Project, who we got to hang out with during each of the fairs, and when Notre Dame's was over she took us over to Legends with a few others, including Amanda from the Good Shepherd Volunteers who was at my orientation, and we shared a meal and some drinks. Snake Bite- Guinness and Apple Cider. :D

Snake Bite- Apple cider and Guinness. An insult to the Irish? Not if the Fighting Irish did it first.

Left to Right: Laura, Colleen, Me, Amanda from Good Shepherd and Amy, resident ND alumna from the Christian Appalachian Project.

I made sure not to go nuts at Notre Dame. I scoped out the Theology section of the library- was happy to see that multiple copies of my favorite texts were in stock and then visited the lakes, the Basilica, and the grotto before we peaced out. 

The Theology section. It gets a floor and a half. :D

Sigh. ... I left my heart in Indiana. 


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Funny quotes:

Colleen: Have you ever seen "Stigmata?"
I, not realizing she was referring to a movie, could only repeat her question: Have I SEEN STIGMATA?!??!"
Colleen started cracking up while I was still pondering whether or not it was possible that she may have encountered a living saint in possession of Christ's wounds. My face must have been priceless.

Friar Rick was standing in the "domestic site" area of the service fair, wearing a name tag that said "Bonaventure University," which I know to be located in New York somewhere. 
Me: So where are you located?
Friar Rick: Francis Corps is in Toronto.
Me: ::quizzical look::
Friar Rick: Do you know where Toronto is?
Me: No.
Friar Rick: ..... it's in Canada.
Me: Oh, the REAL Toronto! ... I thought this was one of those, "No, not Paris France, Paris New York" situations. .. I'm so confused.

One girl comes up to us and we start talking about Cabrini. She asks what the time commitment is.
Me: For domestic service we use the calendar year.
Colleen: You mean SCHOOL year?
Me: .... oh! Yes! Yes! School year. September through June, September through June!!!

Laura: You're the first legitimate man that's come to our table!
Colleen: Legitimate??!?!