Where in the world is Carol??

The Elgin BVS House has been bustling with activities since I last wrote. The summer was a time for each of us to grow spiritually in very different ways. I spent my summer traveling around the world (mostly within the states) to spread a deep compassion for others, and following the examples that Jesus gave us to serve one another. It is a spin off of "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago?" My cousin would occassionally text me and say "Where in the world is Carol," because with the schedule I was keeping, one never knew.

I hope that this doesn’t get to boring but I will give you a quick overview of the week and maybe tell you about a story or a favorite memory (I hope you don’t think that this is boring).
Taize – I started out my summer in France and Switzerland, and I honestly can’t think of a better way to start my summer than this. We spent a week worshiping with the brothers of Taize. It was a time of prayer, silence, simple meals, bible study, sharing with the community and work. It was a time to calm myself, and get centered before I was in charge of 19 – 30 youth each week.
John Kline Homestead – For those of you that know me know that this was an interesting week. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong this week, including a car accident that sent two of my workcampers to the hospital. However, in the end because of all of these challenges my kids really did come together and create a beautiful loving community that brought tears to many eyes when it was time to depart.
Greenville – One thing that made this workcamp so great was being close to my family. I was able to see my brand new cousin (who celebrated her 2 weeks) at a potluck that my workcampers were able to host. It was also a great week in the fact that we had some great youth that were passionate about their faith and were willing to talk about what was going on in their walks with Christ. It was also great because Rachel came and did her training week with me.
Kalamazoo – The Kalamazoo community truly gave us the red carpet treatment. They gave us all such a warm welcome that it makes you feel like you belong in a place like that. Early on in the planning of the workcamp I jokingly told the pastor that I wanted to meet the mayor, well needless to say she arranged that. Not only did we meet the mayor, but he signed our Kalamazoo books that we got for free, gave us Kazoo pins, and signed posters about the city. We also went to the best free museum in the entire world, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. My workcampers and I had a ton of fun including dressing up as characters from the Wizard of Oz to Historical Clothing. We were also able to get “Yes, There is a Kalamazoo” T-Shirts and Kazoos, which my workcampers decided to play on Sunday for the entire church.
Lancaster – We spent our week with our Hispanic Brothers and Sisters in Christ. This was a great opportunity for us to help the Lancaster Community as well as helping out the church, by doing a lot of painting. Oh and as you might guess, we ate extremely well.
St. Croix – What is better than spending a week in the Virgin Islands? Umm, maybe going to the beach every day, hanging out with a great group of youth and advisors, helping baby sea turtles, oh and serving all people on the island.
Roanoke – People from all over the east, when they become in need, migrate to Roanoke because they know that they will be taken care of there. We got to be flies on the wall and hang out with kids, and help the community in need.
Brooklyn – During this week, we all left our comfort zone a little bit and went to the big city: using public transportation, and our own two legs to get anywhere that we needed to go. During our time together we were able to put together a Vacation Bible School for the neighborhood kids, to re-energize and tell them how cool it is to be on God’s team.
Well I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my whirlwind summer. Now I am going to take it easy for a while and try and stay in Elgin for a little while. I have switched positions now, I am no longer planning workcamps (that is now Cat and Rachel), now I am planning a mountain top experience for 300 young adults.
Ready, Set, Go!

Carol :)