Catching up Part 1

My life since January:

Learning how to be a case manager. I really can't write about this because it's still a work in process. But suffice it to say my job is completely different now. No longer do I work with the little kids; I'm now working with thirty-one 14-21-year-old "adjudicated and at-risk" youth. I'm learning case management, and time management, because these students are never in the same place at the same time. Some of them rarely (all right, let's be honest: even never) show up at the center. At this point, I've talked to most of them at least on the phone. But some of them I'm still trying to track down and meet for the first time. The fact that I still haven't been able to get a hold of a few of them, don't know them and can't find them, is only a minor challenge of this job, in comparison to other things. The challenges some of these youth face overwhelm me at times. Literally. I heard a song on the radio the other day that just hit a little too close to home ... well, these are personal details that I really don't feel comfortable typing online. I ache for some of them, at times.

Don't get my wrong, the works challenging, but I came prepared for a challenge. No, that's not true. I wasn't prepared, by myself. But I came expecting a challenge, and came prepared to be built up and hold my ground in the midst of a challenge. I hope I'm doing things right. Just those of you who do, pray for my kids. Pray that they realize there are people out there who care about them, want to see them succeed, and expect that they can succeed. And not just people. People come and go, despite all best intentions. People fail. Pray that they believe, and learn to trust, that there is more than just "people" out there, caring for and looking out for them.

And not to worry, my job isn't just one big challenge. Some of the kids have been doing amazing things lately, and that's exciting! For example, on of the girls who rarely made it to school last semester has been regularly attending, and bringing papers marked "100" to show us at the center. She tries to act like she's not proud of herself, but haha! It doesn't work. And we're all so proud of her. Actually, all the kids who regularly attend programing at the center have been improving in all sorts of different areas, so the plan is to throw this surprise Valentine's Day Party for them on Wednesday. Hopefully it goes well!