So it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted but that’s because two weeks ago, Link gave us the incredible opportunity to go to Kansas City and participate in something they like to call Urban Entry. It was an incredible and humbling experience. We got to serve at the Hope Center, The Kansas City Rescue Mission, and just in the community. There was so much diversity in just the housing street by street there. On one street, half of the houses would be boarded up or abandoned and two streets over, it’d be nice, middle class homes with families occupying each building. We got to take a tour of the neighborhood near the Hope Center and as we did so they told us their mission and what they are doing in the community to help make it prosper.
When we went to the Kansas City Rescue Mission, the director, Kyle, warmly welcomed us. He told us about their ministry and prepared us for what we were about to be doing. Kansas City Rescue Mission is a shelter and ministry for homeless people and they seek to aid them in the process of relief, recovery, and re-entry. In order to achieve this, they offer good food, safe shelter, comfortable beds, clean facilities, case management, a proven recovery program, job and life-skills training. What they were doing there was awesome and we got to hear some of the incredible success stories from Kyle while we were going through our orientation.
But, then after Urban Entry, we had our thanksgiving break for 10 days. That was different. It wasn’t a normal thanksgiving for us, it was pretty small, and I felt out of place since I knew I was just visiting. It was really hard going back to Johnson City after I had gotten used to calling Branson and Link home and gaining a huge and amazing family with all my classmates. It was hard and I missed them all a lot, but it was an awesome moment when we were all finally together again and we all got to talk about our breaks and what happened while we were away.
In saying that, this thanksgiving, what I was most thankful for was Linkyear. I am so incredibly blessed to say that I have a family of sixty people and that I know they’re all their for me. I could not imagine our class any different than what it is now, each person adds something to it and if they were gone, a big piece would be missing. I’m thankful for the opportunities that Link gives us, like all the fun TGIFs, incredible speakers, amazing facilities, and unmatched staff. I am loving it all so much and I cannot begin to think that my time here is almost halfway over and I pray that I continue to learn and take advantage of everything that the Lords puts my way here.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world! ~John 16:33