New Beginnings!

We've had a lot of changes at the Cincinnati volunteer house.  For one thing, we changed houses.  The new house is older, bigger, and pretty much more awesome in every way.  A few things don't always work the way they should, but we're steadily making this new house our home.

We also said a sad goodbye to two of our housemates, Sarah and Sara.  But there wasn't too much time to be sad because right away we said hello to three new housemates!

From left to right, we are Chloe, Marc, Dennis, Sarah Marie and Michelle.

So far, we've had a pretty great time as housemates.  Whether it's carving pumpkins:

We can be pretty silly.

 Singing karaoke:

On Sarah Mayer's last karaoke night, Michelle, Chloe and I joined her for a fab rendition of "I Will Survive"

 Or just showing off how much we love Cincinnati:

Hint: It's a lot.

 I can just tell it's going to be a great year and we look forward to sharing the best of it with all of you.  Blessings!

Truth

Music is one of the few things that I can turn to when I am just really upset or just need some inspiration to continue with my day. For the last couple of months I have turned to that describes the way that I have been feeling like no other song that I have heard. It is called War Zone by Building 429. I feel like that I have been stripped of everything that I have believed in. I’ve seen way to much angry, sadness, and everything in between. In these moments I wonder where is God. My faith is torn, my belief has become unbelief, and my heart continues to stay shattered. “War Zone” My faith is worn and my hands are tired my heart is torn between the truth and the liar so i run cause I’m done and i need you your the one that will come to my rescue my flesh and bones are caught in our war zone. Sara

Grocery Stores and Markets Oh My!

So living in an intentional community involves a lot of different aspects and our house added two additional aspects this weekend. The first was a house trip to the local Kroger to buy house items. The second was a fun house event, we went to Findlay Market. This weekend has been filled with community, but I guess that’s what this experience is all about! Our house trip to the local grocery store is intended to help us make decisions as a house. We have decided that once a month we will all walk to the local Kroger together and agree upon what we should spend our house money on. We bought the basics; butter, bread, toilet paper, paper towels etc. It was intended to be a good way for us to discuss costs of items and where we were going to go with brand names. For instance, we buy Tide laundry detergent because I have sensitive skin. I know, I know, I am so high maintenance. This trip also doubles as something that is very important to me and my year of service. It allows us to be present in our own community. Our grocery store is not the best grocery store, there is a poor selection and most of the items are geared towards people who are living in poverty. This at times means a bad selection of produce or not having the option of 8 different brands of peanut butter. However, it is the only grocery store which is available within walking distance of our community. The people of our community need this grocery store to survive, and by giving my business to another Kroger I am hurting the store in my neighborhood. It is important for me to shop there to be present in our community. I like walking down the streets of Walnut Hills and breaking barriers with a disarming smile and warm greetings. It is surprising how friendly people can be when you just offer them a "hello, how are you today?" Sure not everybody is nice and appropriate to me, as is true in any neighborhood, but I just let that roll of my back and continue on my journey. The second thing we did was a trip to Findlay Market. Findlay Market is a gorgeous indoor/outdoor market where a lot of local vendors set up shops to sell a variety of chocolates, soaps and other knick knacks. I absolutely loved the vibe of the market. It seems like it will be a fun place to hang out during the summer months. I just have to remind myself that I am living simply when I am there. Otherwise, I will buy everything in sight. It was fun to stand at the candle shop with my roommates swapping candles to smell and making funny faces when we found the scent to be disagreeable. It was also nice to have a chance to interact in a more informal manner outside of the house. I hope that we continue to have community outings so that I can see more of what Cincinnati has to offer. Well, I should probably go and pack. I am headed to Tennessee to see my mom's side of the family! I am very excited to go, and I am also excited because my parents will be coming back with me! I can't wait to show them where I live, work and attend church. I hope everybody has a blessed week :) Sarah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sxZCfhBXQs&feature=youtu.be

Hungry and Bored

In BVS, you live on a pretty tight budget and have to make some tough choices.  But over memorial day weekend, Sarah Mayer and I found a sheet cake that was 50% off.  It was a holiday, we wanted to celebrate and here was a wicked cheap cake.  It seemed perfect.

Well, the reason the cake was so cheap was because some silly baker decorated it with black icing.  Like a black border with black balloons.  And this black icing, let me tell you, it gets EVERYWHERE and stains like it's nobody's business.  Our teeth were black, our tongues were black, our lips were black, our hands were black.

But we're good BVSers and we don't let things go to waste.  So we ate up our cake. Then we realized how ghoulish we looked.  Then we realized how close ghoulish is to goth.  And goth of course is only one step of crazy removed from Kiss fan.  And the rest is history.

My Thinking

I wish you could walk in my shoes

And I could walk in yours

I wish when you saw tears form

You knew why they feel from my eyes

I wish you knew my thought process

And I knew yours

I wish when you saw anger form in my expressions

You knew what I am feeling at that moment 

I wish you could see the compassion in what I am doing

And I could see yours

I wish you saw my heart exploding 

You would know I find great pride in this journey 

We are four people

Willing to give a year of our lives 

To serve a community 

To learn how to live together 

We don’t always have to like each other

Or understand people’s thinking and emotions 

But try to find a common ground 

And live as peacefully and simply as we can

Sara