Where in the world are the BVSers?

One of the blessings (and sometimes curses) of being an Elgin BVSer is the travel that we get to do. For recruitment, workcamps, orientations, and regional and national conferences we travel across the country visiting with organizations, youth, pastors, churches and colleges. This year we will travel more than most people around the world will in their entire life. That’s a pretty cool and humbling realization. Sometimes travel can get exhausting, but we’re also getting the opportunity to see many new places and meet with truly interesting and inspiring people!

Here is where some of us have been lately:

Kristen and Laura escaped the negative-degree wind chill weather of snowy Elgin and spent the past weekend in Lake Arrowhead, California. They were at a Forum for Theological Exploration Regional Discernment Retreat where they learned about different opportunities in ministry and had time to discern their purpose and call in the future of the church. They also got to meet up with a pretty cool guy from our orientation unit who was also attending the retreat (shout- out to Jesse Winter!). Of course the place they stayed was gorgeous and it wasn’t all sessions and learning, I hear they even got to dance!

While Laura, Kristen and Jesse reunited on the West Coast, I got to spend time with Katie Furrow (also a unit 307er) in the Nation’s Capital. She is directing the Washington DC workcamp with me so we got to spend a wonderful two days re-connecting, sight-seeing, visiting organizations and planning for the workcamp!
#awesomeleadershipteam

#watchoutDC

Theresa made it to Seattle on Monday for a workcamp site visit out West! She told me that she has already had some famous Seattle coffee!

One of the perks of traveling is getting to visit places that are special to us! Last week (before California) Kristen got to go to Manchester University with Ben to help with recruitment at their career fair. As a Manchester alum she was a huge help in making connections with professors and current students. I heard that she was a total rockstar on campus!

At the end of this week Laura and I get the very special opportunity to go to Juniata College’s career fair for BVS recruitment. I know we are both looking forward to being on campus again and sharing about our BVS experience so far.

It’s been awhile since we’ve all been together in the house, and this is just the start of the busy travel season. 

Let the crazy, fun times begin! 

Peace, 

Hannah 

A fun weekend!

This past weekend we had lots of fun with friends and family from Highland Avenue! Let me break it down for ya. 

On Friday evening we had a potluck dinner and movie night at the Lehman's house. In Sunday School we have been watching a series on Islam and discussing Muslim/ Christian relations. So, we watched the movie "Arranged," which was about an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman, who became friends during their first year of teaching. They bonded over the fact that both of them were in the process of meeting spouses for their arranged marriages. It was a really good movie, and I highly recommend it! 

Saturday was nice and relaxing. We walked around the local mall, ate lots of chocolate, watched Pitch Perfect, and Jessie finally returned home from orientation! 

On Sunday, for the Offertory at church, Ben, Kristen, Don Knieriem, and I did special music.   Kristen played piano (Hannah turned pages!), Don played guitar, Ben sang, and I danced to the hymn "Be Thou My Vision." After church we had an open house! It was great to be able to have people from the offices and church over, especially people who had never been here before. Kristen's parents were here visiting for the weekend, and they kindly provided the snacks. We (okay mostly Ben) gave many tours of the house. On Sunday night, I watched "Mean Girls" at the church with the Spirited Sisters group. It was fun to watch the movie with people who had never seen it before. Lots of laughter and the popcorn was yummy!  

Kristen, Theresa, Ben, Jessie, and Hannah right before the open house started! We were only missing Laura, who returned from a fun weekend in Chicago about an hour later.

Thanks for reading. 

Peace, 

T

Orientation observations

This past Friday we had a visitor come through the BVS office - Genelle! She was one of the Orientation Coordinators for my unit (along with Callie) and was in town visiting her sister, LeAnn. We reminisced a bit about my unit, talking about where everyone was and what they were up to. It got me to thinking about the differences of our BVS orientation experiences here within the house.

There were 31 volunteers in Unit 277. We split our orientation time between two Missouri towns: Peace Valley (pop: 455) and Kansas City (pop: 464,310). The only time we slept in real beds was at the Missouri-Arkansas District Conference and Internet availability was largely non-existent for us. I headed off to Colorado at the end of orientation where I wouldn't know anyone for a few hundred miles in any direction. This would be my first of three projects plus a stint in Portland, Ore.

Here's Theresa's unit, #303, which began a year and a half ago. She had a full unit of 24 (apparently 31 was a bit much) and roughly three quarters of her unit has already finished their time in BVS. She went to Texas for her project, where I think the only person she knew upon her arrival was her housemate whom she had met three weeks earlier at the beginning of her orientation in New Windsor, Md. Theresa is now in her second year of BVS in a much different setting and workplace than last year.

Jessie was in a winter unit, 304, which meant they met in Gotha, Fla. for their three weeks together. At 13 members, her unit was larger than many winter orientations, but still the smallest unit among those in the Elgin house here. Jessie was the first BVSer at her project in New York and only had five other volunteers with her for her mid-year retreat last summer. Jessie's unit is also unique in that possibly only one volunteer from the entire unit will be done with their term of service exactly one year after beginning due to some not making it a year, taking two-year international placements, or serving at an interim project while they waited for their first choice to open up.

Unit 307 went through orientation this past fall and included Hannah, Kristen, and Laura. At 17 members, it's a somewhat small unit for the fall. Like Theresa, they met in New Windsor, Md. for their orientation. They were a younger unit than many, too - eight of the volunteers from this group are still teens. Unlike Jessie, Theresa, and me, it was already known where Hannah, Kristen, and Laura would be going after orientation because it had been decided months before.

It's interesting to think about how our orientation experiences shape our time in BVS. I never occurred to me that not every unit gelled like mine until I got to my first mid-year retreat and met the summer unit. Surely technology plays a role as well with access to things such as Facebook, cell phones, and texting. SnapChat is pretty popular with some of the housemates here for keeping up with what's going on with other volunteers at their projects. To imagine what it would've been like to enter into a program like this twenty or thirty years ago is pretty wild. Brief phone calls and snail mail letters must have been a remarkably sustaining energy source.

And then there's the current unit, 308, that is down in Gotha, Fla. with Jessie and Jocelyn. This isn't a picture of a food group, but the entire unit - all six of them. There are some similarities that surely we all would recognize - food runs on small budgets, trying to stay awake during sessions, curiosity and awe for the new place they are staying, etc. They're even roughly half from Brethren backgrounds like all of our units were (which is not always true - only one out of 12 from the summer unit, for example). What awaits them when they reach whatever comes after orientation is still anyone's guess. Maybe one of them will even end up here in the Elgin BVS house someday and they'll get a chance to tell their story on here, too.

Estate Sale Extravaganza!

As many of you probably know, part of BVS means living on a simple budget. But, the fun in that means figuring out how to have fun as a house without spending a whole lot of dough. 

So, last Saturday we all adventured to the next town over to check out an estate sale. 

I, personally love secondhand adventures: thrift stores, church bazaars, and yard sales are like treasure hunts to me. I know that many other people in our house enjoy secondhand shopping as well. I've heard of people finding some hidden treasures at estate sales, but I have never gotten to go to one. 

If you don't know what an estate sale is, basically when an elderly person passes away or moves to a nursing home or something of the like, they or their family may choose to have an estate sale. The house is open to the public and you move from room to room looking at different items and see if anything catches your eye. Also, it is kind of interesting to catch a glimpse of someone else's life. For instance, the estate sale that we visited, the woman that lived there had many dachshund themed items and from pictures in the house, you knew they had a beloved pup. 

We certainly all had a lot of fun searching for items that we enjoyed or suggesting items for other housemates. 

So, for this week's blog, I decided to share everyone's favorite items! 

Theresa found this adorable shamrock mug for only $2!

Kristen found this unique vintage journal for $0.75. 

Ben found a couple household items, including some non-alcoholic sparkling juices - which we enjoyed for our anti-Super Bowl/Snow Day party today! These yummy drinks were only a $1 per bottle. 

Finally, I found this amazing floral rug for only $1! 

Hannah wasn't with us because she was in New Orleans for a workcamp site visit, while Jessie is still in Florida for orientation. We can't wait to hit up another sale with them in the future!

xo, 

Laura 

Food much?

I get a lot of questions about food now that I've been living as a volunteer with a volunteer's budget... "Do you have enough to eat? What kinds of things can you all make and eat? Do you eat together? What about allergies? Is anyone vegetarian?"

To summarize my answers, we choose to cook one meal per week, so each of the five of us in the house cooks one night a week. Recently, we made up a chart that helps us remember what day we're responsible for and to have a better idea of how many people we'll need to prepare for. As you'll get a better understanding of through the pictures, we are just entering the time when we are most in and out traveling due to the nature of our work. 

Starting this week, Hannah made stuffed peppers for us on Sunday. As Jessie was still here, we had six people in the house. As we all work in the same place, we've figured out it's nice to have leftovers taken care of through have extra from the night before. In essence, we cook double the amount we need - if we have six people, we make enough for twelve meals. 

Hannah made thirteen peppers in total. :) What did she use to stuff them, you may ask? Quinoa, cheese, corn, beans, and a smattering of spices. They were delish!

We have varying diets, but have much to be thankful for. We all are flexible enough in cooking, ranging from learners to "the seasoned," and everyone tries the food! And we are getting pretty good at learning what people like to eat. I like experimenting with meals, and nearly every week am trying a new recipe. Per a suggestion from Kelley, our archival intern at the office, she offered this stew recipe and trying it on Monday, it turned out pretty great. I think Harold was a lovely pumpkin. :) In the end because his bottom wasn't totally flat, he turned out looking more like Grumpy cat. Thanks to Jessie for modeling!

 I believe Theresa's quote was, "Kristen, I've got to tell you, I'm anxious about trying this! 

She loved it.

Laura and Jessie and I also thought it was pretty tasty!

Laura's supper on Tuesday, as you can see, was polished off in a hurry. Ben and Hannah were out to Iowa visiting for a summer workcamp and talking about BVS, so it was just Laura, Jessie, Theresa, and I for the pumpkin and Laura's delight: chicken tacos!





Ben remembered having Common Meal at the church two Wednesdays a month, but involvement changed and it hadn't been happening during the summer and fall months.
He found Cat had an interest in cooking, and gathered Laura, Hannah, and I to help organize the volunteers to help set-up, prep in the kitchen, and clean-up. We've been having around 30 people come to meals.
It's a great way to meet folks from the church and get to know people in a new setting. It's also fun to eat Cat's food - she is an excellent cook!
So, this week I was in line to organize help, and I also was the photographer. I got some action shots of people who helped and those who attend church. It was a "soup"er meal, with a GF potato and leek soup and Italian Wedding soup.

 

Good food and fellowship was had by all!

Thursday, Hannah made a great lasagna. As we've all been in the house together, we've also been finding our niches and what is easy to make. Hannah's lasagna recipe from home is a BVS house favorite. Something about that Ricotta... 

Ben was switching it up for the house and wanted to host a relaxing Friday snack and movie night. After going to Emily's for a Christmas celebration, this popular and tasty spread is now dubbed, "The Emily Dinner."

I enjoyed a weekend out with friends in Indianapolis. The food adventure continued! For the first time since November (note previous November post) Saturday's lunch was splitting a gluten-free, delightful cheese pizza with Kelley! It made my day. :) Our visit to the Indy Children's Museum was awesome.

Kelley, Brandon, and I made nachos for our Saturday evening supper. 

(At the house, per regional differences, we go back and forth between "dinner" and "supper".)

 
As conscientious as we are with how we budget and spend our money, we will on occasion go out and splurge. Inevitably, we all chose chocolate - hot drinks, chocolate cake, and a chocolate cheesecake. Fun fact: the tree behind Laura, Hannah, and Theresa was made out of chocolate. 












For those of you keeping track, you may be wondering if Theresa was going to cook this week... Due to the flexible nature of our house, Saturday was originally Theresa's designated day to cook. However, there were enough leftovers that consensus was to put off cooking until Sunday supper. She made a bean, corn, and salsa soup, perfectly warm for the snowy night we have here tonight.

Our weeks will look a bit crazy from here on out and food scrambling will become the norm. However, all six of us enjoy eating, and we will definitely be having some chocolate from time to time.

For now, peace from the BVS house and stay warm! 

With love,~Kristen

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

A silly poem

Here's a silly poem about our first weekend back in the house after all being away for the holidays:

Friday nights at the kitchen table
An unconventional family dinner
Bread broken, stories shared
A few hours of games with many-a-winner
No laughter was spared

Saturday mornings in the living room
A reader and a writer
Breakfast without words from you or me
Soft music on the player
Giggles, sighs, and sips of coffee and tea

Sunday, out and about and around the house
Time for worshipping our creator 
A Special Olympics basketball tournament
Practicing Spanish like a dominator
Undecorated the tree, then on to the new week we went


In peace and with love,
T