Let the chaos ensue...

City Project has officially begun!  My parents and I drove up to Durham on yesterday and got to the house—which is pink and purple (pictures WILL be coming, you have to see this)—at about 1-1:30pm.  We met the owner, Joanna Lynn, and she immediately put us to work (my kinda girl).  My dad, Joanna, and I worked on nailing the hard wood panels into the floor while my mom cleaned off a gazillion bookshelves.  There’s a decent amount of work on the floors that still needs to be done in our house, but it should be completely finished by the time we return from Queens, NY!  It should be noted, however, that all the girls had a place to sleep last night, so no worries there!

Speaking of the girls…there’s 6 of us.  Jen Tay arrived shortly after I did, so we got to pick the best room :) aka we don’t have to share a bed because we both move around in our sleep, which could and would likely be dangerous.  So she’s my roommate, and just graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a double major in Poli Sci and International Relations.  Then there’s Christa, who is a rising junior at Meredith and an Exercise and Sports Science major, who is rooming with Laura, who is a rising senior at NC State!  Christine just graduated from UNC as well and she is rooming with Jen, who is a rising Junior at State (woohoo!).  I already love all of these girls and am so excited to be living with girls who are older and wiser than myself.  Being the oldest of 3 kids, I’m usually the one who always knows what’s going on and answers questions.  But Lord knows I struggle with relinquishing control and completely trusting Him, so already He is at work! 

Joanna Lynn is awesome.  She is crazy enough to let 6 college girls live in her house!  There are 4 bedrooms and 4 baths, leaving 3 of each for us 6.  Other than the house being a work in progress, it is adorable.  Yes, from seeing the exterior, it looks like Crayola made a house built the house, but it is beautiful on the inside.  Joanna works with refugees through Church World Services and is well-traveled.  So there are all these knick-knacks from Asian and African countries scattered throughout her home; it is gorgeous (again, pictures will be coming!). 

After a day of moving our stuff, some of the guys’ stuff, and a trip to a sweet thrift store, we met all the City Project students and most of the staff at a nearby Ben and Jerry’s.  We were told virtually nothing about what we were going to be doing the next day, just to meet at Duke Gardens at 8:30am and wear comfy clothes.  We talked for 2 hours and then the 6 of us girls and some of the guys went to Kroger’s to grocery shop for the week!  We were given $50 and spent $49.35.  Success.  We all eat fairly healthy and Christine and I eat practically the same so that’s nice to have someone in the house that also doesn’t eat red meat or fried foods! 

We were up around 7:15 this morning and when we got to the gardens we prayed together and then everyone went out in the gardens to spend 2 hours in solitude with Christ.  We were given a passage in John 15 over which to pray…

It was difficult for me to quiet my thoughts enough at first to allow Him to refine my heart, as my mind was on other people that I wanted to pray for…my gratitude for other people's generosity to allow me to get here, my family, my sweet boyfriend, my girls, other City Project students.  But when I stopped to open my mind and spirit to let God in again, my prayers for other things were filled with so much more peace. 

I also bonded with/enjoyed watching/was occasionally afraid of lots of ducks and funny-looking birds by a pond…

After our time at Duke Gardens we were split up into teams (I’m Team 1, aka Dager’s Dangerous Dozen, because Jeremy Dager is our team leader, what what!).  The girls from D-cubed will be one discipleship group and the guys will have their own, and the same for Team 2, aka The Eleven.  Both teams were then given instructions and Dager’s Dangerous Dozen proceeded to dominate the “Durham Free Mason Race” where we saved the world from mass destruction in less than 4 hours.  Really we did a scavenger hunt in 98 degree weather with barely any breeze, carrying bags and bookbags, and pushing one of our teammates (a guy, no less) in a wheelchair the whole time (because a girl on the other team tore her ACL and had to be in one, so KJ decided to make it fair). 

We won the scavenger hunt; no surprise there.  I am quite experienced when it comes to scavenger hunts.  But we weren’t allowed to run at all, which was very difficult/frustrating and we couldn’t split up.  The hunt started at Duke Gardens and took us to the Durham Bulls stadiums, and ALL around downtown Durham.  It was great bonding/team building time…it quickly revealed personalities and was just very very hot. 

After our lunch at 2:45 (it was free, no complaints), we were dropped off at the house to shower and get ready.  Then we all went to Wendy Clark’s home, where 4 City Project girls are staying: Lauren, Sarah, Jenny, and Rebecca (Jenny and Rebecca are proud members of D-cubed).   All the City Project students, staff, and host families were there for a cookout and a relaxing time.  I love times like these where after a long day we remember our precious time with the Lord this morning, and how and why He has all brought us together. 

A bunch of the students then went to the guy’s apartments and played Catch Phrase and Family til about 10:30.  Bed is at 12:30.  Wish it was earlier.  I'm sure it will be tomorrow.