Thoughts

This week was fairly uneventful for the ladies of St. Louis MVS. So instead of our usual event updates, this week we're going to take our readers on a little tour of the inner workings of an MVSer.

Amanda
While it's usually revered as a very selfless, purposeful and positive place to be employed, working at a non-profit agency tends to come with more than its fair share of bumps and surprises. Amanda has been contemplating the trying world of non-profits this week. It seems strange that these agencies, so crucial to meeting the needs of everyday people, struggle just to survive the day to day. Money worries, space issues, meeting federal codes, staying on top of paper work, less than ideal working conditions and client needs are what non-profit workers walk into every morning. Why are those working for non-profits usually struggling to meet their own needs? Even more disturbing, why do the presidents, founders and board members of non-profits tend to be upper-class citizens who rarely encounter the populations which their agencies serve? Why does poor management and poor employee treatment seem so prevalent in the world of non-profits? There's no real answers to these questions nor is it the job of the MVSer to solve them. We know that our job is to be Christ's hands and feet where few toes dare to trod. But still, those thoughts go through our heads and we can't help wondering.

Heather
The real world. It ain't so pretty. Having recently taken that leap from the relatively secure environment of MVS to the "real world", Heather is finding out why that term is rarely said with anything but a sarcastic smile. Though a paycheck is no unwelcome sight to a former VSer, things like buying a car, paying rent and the always harrowing job hunt make the cushion of an expanding bank account feel more like the cold reality of a hardwood floor. It's been nice for all of us, though, that Heather is working through that transition while still living in our sweet, little community. It's nice to have the support of a church family and warm, familiar home to come home to. But even so, the real world will take some adjusting to.

Tiffany
Ah, the next step. No matter how many one takes, there's always that next one looming ahead of you. Usually right about the time you feel yourself confidently planted, there you are, dragging your feet up again. Lately Tiffany has been contemplating next years' plans. March is the 6 month mark in her year of service and has coincided neatly with the little flutters of excitement and fear for the future. She's planning to move to Oregon in September to live with her sister and some college friends. Seems pretty simple at face value. However, the myriad details involved are beginning to be revealed. While living on the west coast with some of the best folks in the world is going to be great for her, there's still always doubts. How does one confidently make a move? When do you get used to rooting and uprooting oneself? When do you become good at it? As a good friend of ours once said, time is a scarce thing; how does one choose where and with whom to spend it? We suppose however, that the true question is what you will do with that time, wherever you are.

Eloquence

A Job Where You Make Money
Heather got a job a this week! After a week of being our stay-at-home housemate (which Tiffany and Amanda were really starting to get used to), Heather got a receptionist position at an up-and-coming organization. She's back to working long hours only now she gets this really neat thing that she calls "a paycheck." Amanda and Tiffany are fascinated by this strange concept but Heather seems to like it.

Work
The work week passed with a few ups and downs. Amanda and Heather continued to attend step classes at the YMCA and Tiffany worked towards her goal of eating her weight in icecream. St. Louis had a big snow storm on Tuesday (if you're paying attention to detail, yes it was 70 degrees just two days prior to the storm) so Tiffany enjoyed a snow day while Amanda, being the courageous clinical manger that she is, braved the snow and kept the clinic operating. Besides that, the three of us tried to capture the interesting, the humorous and even the ho-hum moments throughout the week to remind ourselves that our lives are uniquely ordinary.

Friday
We had an impromptu dinner party on Friday evening, complete with homemade pizza, games and good company. It was a fun night with lots of conversation and some less than sportsmanlike conduct during a high-intensity round of Cranium.


Saturday
We started the weekend right on Saturday by completing a lot of chronically ignored errands. We took out our recycling (no small task after about 3 months of neglect) and ran around the area returning various borrowed items to neighbors and friends. To reward ourselves for our extremely responsible behavior, we had a marathon shopping trip. Funny how coming home weighted down by heavy bags serves to lift the spirits.

Monday...Oops
As our loyal readers (an invisible group in whom we will continue to believe) may have noticed, we are a day late in our usual blogging routine. We do apologize but we do have a very good excuse. On Monday evening we attended an observable reading by Anne Lamott. While we've all been exposed to her writing in some way, the three of us really didn't know what to expect. That turned out to be okay though, because the thin, 54-year-old, dread-lock sporting woman who read moving excerpts from her own books would have far surpassed any expectations we might have had. It was in fact, a night of inspiration and insight. More than anything, the three of us walked away from the event feeling affirmed in the eloquence of the ordinary. Anne Lamott reveals her life in the most honest of terms, unwilling to omit that which might not seem pretty or appealing. She exposes her life as the raw, dirty, chaotic wonder that it is in order that her readers might understand the beauty in feeling ugly and the relevance of feeling unimportant. And so we feel that an evening which inspires us to embrace the messy world in which we exist was worth one late blog. If you, our readers, feel otherwise, we recommend you sit down with Anne's latest, "Faith (Eventually)."

A Smile

The Mini-Musical
This week, Tiffany has been working on a her most recent creative endeavor. Amanda, Tiffany and some people from the church had discussed the idea of doing some kind of theatrical production at SLMF. The result of that brainstorm: Tiffany will be directing "Godspell: The Mini Musical" on May 11th at St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship. Thus, Tiffany spent the week researching, planning, emailing other creative sources and talking her housemates into contributing their own dramatic abilities.

Thai for Becca
On Wednesday, the three of us went out for dinner with Amanda's two co-workers, Lindsay and Becca for Becca's birthday. While it wasn't our original plan, we ended up a cute little Thai place. Becca, Lindsay and Amanda swapped work stories and Tiffany and Heather enjoyed hearing the latest about our favorite La Clinica characters.

Fundraising
Recently, Amanda and Tiffany found out that the leaders of MVS decided that each unit needs to raise $300 towards traveling expenses for MVS retreat. The two of them announced that they would be doing odd jobs for anyone in the church in order to raise the necessary funds. So on Saturday, they donned their painting clothes and headed out to their first of many random jobs. They painted a playroom for a family in the church while 5-year-old Abby entertained them with excerpts from her favorite "Rainbow Fairy" books.
That evening, La Clinica was also having a fundraising at a cool local venue. While Tiffany babysat for Tina and Kyle, Amanda and Heather went out to support La Clinica and listen to a local Brazilian band.

The Sun Shines For Us
Sunday was the most beautiful day St. Louis has seen in months. It was a perfectly sunny, 70 degree afternoon so we did what any young adult group would do on a such a lovely day; we went to the zoo. The three of us and several other spunky 20 somethings from the church battled the bad parking and stroller-pushing crowds at the zoo and were rewarded with sea lion feedings, crazy double-billed birds and some great photo ops. Amanda, Tiffany, Heather and Dan finished up the day at Pho Grand, our favorite Thia restaurant just a few yards from our house.

Lighten Up
The week, while not void of low points, was a welcome lift after last week's multitude of valleys.
We know that, even though we can't smile all the time, we can always find people ready and willing to give us reason to.

Far Away

San Antonio Envy
Heather (now an Associate VSer) was on vacation this week with her family in San Antonio. She had, of course, a great time basking in the Texas warmth while Amanda and Tiffany battled a weekend snowstorm here in St. Louis. And while our jealousy was loudly voiced, we were happy to live vicariously as she related her vacation adventures.

Sometimes It's Not Easy...
This week was a rough one for Amanda and Tiffany. Tiffany found out on Wednesday that her family (back in Minnesota) are struggling through a very difficult situation. Right on cue, she woke up Thursday morning with a sore throat and coughing until she was pretty sure small pieces of lung would soon be appearing. She took Thursday and Friday off of work and Nurse Amanda stepped in to provide the necessary medication and direction ("Tiffany, go to bed!" Tiffany, take more vitamin C!" Tiffany, why aren't you sleeping yet?!"). On Saturday, Amanda had her own unhappy news from home. Her great Aunt had passed away on Friday night. Needless to say, VS really isn't all flowers and candy.

But It's Possible
Fortunately, there were spots of brightness that reminded us why we chose to do this year of service. We enjoyed housesitting for a couple from the church who, coincidently have one of the coolest video games you'll ever play. Tiffany had two friends from Goshen come through St. Louis. They stayed Saturday and Sunday and provided a needed boost for the still slightly ill Tiffany. And on Sunday, Amanda enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame (give or take 10 minutes) when La Clinica was featured on the evening news. The three of us also attended young adult Bible Study Sunday night and have spent a considerable amount of time lately watching "Anne of Green Gables," a movie that slices cleanly through any dark mood.

When Being Where You're Supposed To Be, Isn't
Amanda and Tiffany have both struggled this week with being so far from home and family. It's difficult to motivate oneself to keep going to work every day, holding back tears because you know they're meant to be shared with loved ones, ones who know. It's difficult to resist taking the next flight out when you are forced to express in phone conversation those things that can only be truly understood when they are read in the face of someone you love. It's difficult to work for change in a world that suddenly doesn't feel so full of potential. Who's hand do you hold when the only people you want to touch are hundreds of miles away? What do you tell yourself when the job that once felt powerful now keeps you from being there for the most important people in your life? These are the unanswerable questions that rush through the mind of a service worker as they bump into the first wall erected by this thing called personal sacrifice. But still, you keep going. Because even if it doesn't always feel to you that you are where you should be, the child at HeadStart would disagree, as would the uninsured mother desperately seeking medical help. So we have found, when you can't touch the ones you love, you hold the hand of a stranger who needs you. When you can't hug a family member, you wrap your arms around a scared child. And you might find these strangers feeling familiar, like the people you wish could be as close, suddenly are.

House-sitting
Beginning last Tuesday, the three of us have been house-sitting for a couple who lives a few blocks away. We've also been dog-sitting for their cute little chihuahua mix, Milie. The beautiful, three-story house has been a nice little home away from home and Milie has found a little place in all of our hearts (even Tiffany's, despite her best efforts).

Thursday
The three of us decided that our neighbors, Tina and Kyle, deserved a relaxed night to themselves so we volunteered to do some free babysitting for them. So on Valentine's Day, instead of chocolates and flowers, the evening was filled with toys, baths and potty training routines. The truth is though, that the three of us are so enamored with Kyan and Mikayla that there was no shortage of affection on our Valentine's Day.
Thursday was also Heather's last day as an official VSer. Thankfully though, it was nearly a non-event because Heather is staying in the city and continuing to live with us in the house as an associate VSer.

Friday
Clay provided us with a fun-filled evening on Friday, providing the pizza and the movie. Tiffany, Amanda, Dan and Clay wasted the night away watching the hilariously quirky and sarcastic antics of "The Flight of the Conchords" (look them up on YouTube, you won't regret it).

Busy Busy Saturday
Mikayla's first birthday party and Trivia Night were both on Saturday which means between taking care of Milie, grocery shopping and those two events, we were pretty active all day. Heather and her parents flew out of St. Louis that afternoon as well, destined for San Antonio Texas where Heather's twin sister and brother-in-law are also doing VS. There was more than slight tinge of jealousy in the air as Amanda and Tiffany bid good-bye to their southern bound housemate.
However, Amanda and Tiffany enjoyed Mikayla's birthday party and "Team Young Blood" were a force to be reckoned with at trivia night (at least for the first few rounds).Sunday
Determined to have quiet, nap-filled day, Amanda and Tiffany skipped Sunday School on Sunday but as always, had our spirits lifted by Pastor Sam's sermon and by being the presence of our church family. Amanda attended Scott and Mary-Beth Neufeld-Wall's duel surprise birthday party which was fun, encouraging and had no shortage of fantastic food.

Basement Pigeons

Same Old
We enjoyed a quiet week this week. Winter, it seems, can be easily associated with steady, mildly suffocating routine. While we all love our jobs very much, they are still our jobs. And having had little outdoor activity in the last few months, we do feel a bit restricted sometimes. However, the weekend brought some very unique spice to our lives. It's funny that just when you think you can predict your life, a long comes a basement pigeon.

Basement Pigeons
Saturday morning, Heather woke up and announced that there was something in our basement. And whatever the "something" was, its flapping had been loud enough to wake her up in the night. Uncertain of what we would be facing, the three of us and a friend, Clay, donned the best wildlife gear we could find: rubber gloves, a stick, paper bags and a flashlight. We gingerly descended the stairs, prepared for an epic battle. We discovered the "something" sitting nonchalantly on the floor of our basement: a pigeon. Two of his less vivacious friends lay beside him, having flapped their last. Clay, bound and determined to release this lovely creature (about which he first inquired, "What is that?! A pheasant?!) back into its urban
wilderness, pursued the animal with grace and gentility. And when that didn't work, he ran from one end of our basement to the other, trying to trap the now frantic bird. The three of us, wildlife experts that we are, contributed to the pigeon catch and release cause by crouching on the floor and emitting occasional screeches as it flew and darted around us. Miracle of miracles, Clay actually managed to catch the bird by its foot as it flew by, thus subduing the "pheasant." With the wonder and beauty of a wilderness calendar, Clay released the bird into the warm February air and watched as it flew off, probably taking with it a new found respect for freedom

Just When You Think
The rest of the weekend flew by in whirlwind of friends, church, a Science Center outing, and young adult Bible study. It was a good weekend but inevitably sprinkled with "basement pigeons." You don't see them coming, they seem kind of ridiculous and they offer a challenge. But that's the beauty. Just when it seems like life will just go on, one regular day after another, a pigeon gets in your basement. It's not exactly a welcome guest, something you want to deal with, but it brings excitement and keeps us on our toes. And if you're armed with the best kind of friends and the right sized stick, basement pigeons are easily taken care of.

~A Word From Heather~

My last days of MVS are wrapping up with only 3 days of work left at the Peace Center. This past year has been such a rewarding and fulfilling experience. I have loved every minute of working with the adorable kids at Columbia Elementary and watching their excitement towards working in the garden grow as the year progressed. I have learned a tremendous amount about peace building and community development during the past year and have appreciated all the different opportunities I have encountered. I will miss the Peace Center and the people I have met, but I will always remember the amazing experiences.

Falling Apart and Building Up

Falling Apart
Sometimes it feels like Murphy's law is more like a sentence. Murphy, great guy that he was, went ahead and assured the world that if things start to go downhill, that hill probably be covered with jagged rocks and eventually end in a sheer cliff. Our VS house recently has been that rock covered, Murphy's law confirming downward slope.
Monday, Amanda came hope from work sick (less towards sniffles and more towards vomiting). This would not be a big deal...except she came home to a house that was only half heated, with no dryer and no long distance service. Needless to say, we've been struggling to keep up as our house seemed to slowly self-destruct. We were worried. Murphy may have been smart but we really didn't need his company this week.

Building Up
While we did spend a week with many house malfunctions, it all culminated in a fantastic weekend. Friday night, Scott (a member of our support committee) and MaryBeth Neufeld-Wall and their two daughters, Maya (7) and Sadie (4), came over for dinner. It was a fun evening, complete with a pink and purple cake (the girls' favorite colors) and some kid-adjusted games.
Saturday was the day of dreams for us, especially Tiffany. On Saturday afternoon, after much frustration involving a broken cell phone and some not-so-honest Ebay sellers, Tiffany finally had a working cell phone. Even more exciting though, we got our heat fixed! For the first time in over a month, our house was FINALLY back to normal and Tiffany could actually sleep in her room. The day of dreams continued when we went to see Barack Obama speak in downtown St. Louis. We stood in line for an hour, got in the building at 7 PM, stood in a crowd of 20,000 people for two hours and finally enjoyed an inspirational speech at 9 PM. Although the wait was long, the crowd pushy and the Metro overflowing with drunken Mardi Gras attenders, the evening was very entertaining, enlightening and empowering.
Sunday we didn't have any great Superbowl plans. The nice thing is, when you have cool/spontaneous friends, plans sometimes make themselves. So after a great Sunday School meeting that morning, Clay suggested we get some take-n-bake pizza. We ended up having a great Sunday lunch of pizza, hummus, pesto and rigorous discussion with Clay and Amy. Amy headed out to get some work done while the three of us and Clay spent an afternoon and evening talking, eating, sharing, watching a few snippets of the game, laughing and eating some more.

Stickin' to Murphy
All in all, we'd probably say that anything that could go wrong, will go wrong. Fortunately, we'd also say that when things go right, it makes all the wrongs seem a lot less important. Sorry for the ego blow Murphy.