The New Year

I've never been one to get really excited about the New Year or make crazy New Year's Resolutions. I don't see the new year as a new start as much as just a continuation of what already was. This new year however, marks the start of many new things for the house and myself. I find myself both excited and anxious about what lies ahead.
The start of 2015 brings the beginning of a new phase of the workcamp season: on-site visits! Both Theresa and I will spend the majority of the next few months traveling around the country visiting the locations of our summer workcamps. I'm very excited to finally be hitting the road and meeting with the organizations and people who help make the magic happen this summer! It's also a bonus that some of my traveling will take me to warm locations. This afternoon I leave for Camp Pine Lake in Iowa, along with Ben, who is traveling with me to do some recruiting for BVS in the area. At the very end of the month I will be in New Orleans, meeting with an organization called Captsone, and the first week of February Threresa and I will fly to Los Angeles together to plan for our workcamp there. As excited as I am to travel and see new places, I will miss the consistency and routine of Elgin life that I have gotten used to the past few months. It's been nice having everyone in the house and being able to spend a lot of time together.
The beginning of this year also brings a new member of our house! Jessie Houff, the new orientation assistant, moved in on Saturday. We are so excited to have her living with us! Because this is the season of travel in the Elgin BVS house, she leaves on Thursday for her first orientation in Florida. We wish her luck!
Not much else is new in the house. We have been busy playing games and staying warm inside. The weather this weekend has been great in Chicagoland, however, and some of us have been able to get outside to soak up some sun. I'm sure we will see more snow in the next few weeks, but for now, the weather has been a good reminder that spring, and more new beginnings, will come before long.

With love,
Hannah