Top 10 Reasons To Visit Philly

10.  Will Smith’s high school is two miles from my house.

9. There is always a story to share after taking public transportation (I may even write about it in my blog).

8.  Rita’s Frozen Ice and Custard- where else can you get “Swedish fish”-flavored ice cream?

7.  You can brush up on your American history.  I’ll even provide a genuine PA history teacher as your personal tour guide.

6. The bubble tea in Chinatown is delicious!

5. We’ll improve our boxing skills by running up the Art Museum stairs with “Eye of the Tiger” playing on our ipods.

4. Jim’s Steaks- the best cheesesteaks you’ll ever have!

3. Visitation BVM School

2. Penn’s Landing!!!

1. Simply because I love you all! Besides, why would you not take advantage of having a loved one living in Philadelphia?  No hotel costs, no travel anxiety, no excuses.

Father, let my heart be after you.

Father, let my heart be after you.

 

“What am I doing here?” The girl looks away from the mirror, her cheeks smeared black from the mascara she had put on her eyelashes earlier that morning.  The twisted reality continues to sink in as feelings of helplessness, abandonment, and frustration sweep through her system.  “Wasn’t I obedient? Wasn’t my heart in the right place? Wasn’t there a promise?”

 

She has learned that there is oftentimes (if not always) more than meets the eye.  She has learned that the Words that she believes breathe life into man are not always understood as truth and are not always taught purely and wholly.  She has learned that so many are lost and so many do not hear the Voice that she has come to know as her Guide and her Friend. 

 

The countless questions dashing through her mind are quieted by a still warmth.  The tears subside and she takes a deep breath, closing her bloodshot eyes.  Another reality hits her:  She is loved.  And not in the cheap, conditional sense of the word.  No. She is truly, utterly, deeply, and completely loved.  She is loved by the One who will never fail her, the One who will never leave or forsake her, the One who is faithful even when she is not.  She is struck by the immense beauty of being able to rejoice even amidst her pain. 

 

The girl slowly opens her eyes and looks back into the mirror.  A small smile makes its way onto her red, puffy face.  It’s a smile of comfort.  A smile of hope.  A smile of knowing that her life is not her own. It belongs to the One who loves her.  In barely a whisper, a short, powerful prayer leaves her lips. “May my heart be after You.”

 

 

“This is what God the LORD says—

he who created the heavens and

stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and all

that comes out of it,

who gives breath to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

‘I, the LORD, have call you in

righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people

and a light for the Gentiles,

to open eyes that are blind,

to free captives from prison

and to release from the dungeon

those who sit in darkness.

 

‘I am the LORD, that is my name!

I will not give my glory to another

or my praise to idols.

See, the former things have taken

place,

and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

I announce them to you.’ ”

 

Isaiah 42:5-9

Classroom and School Pictures

The Prayer Corner
Here is the classroom library with an awesome view of the Philly skyline out the windows!  We also enjoy the sound of the subway passing by about every 10 minutes. :)
My classroom! Almost ready for the first day of school!
The School entrance at Visitation
Visitation BVM- Where I spend most of my time these days.  Good thing I love it here. :)

Public Transportation 1 Katie Lane 0

The first Sunday that I was living in Philadelphia I was determined to get to a church service. Not having a car seemed to be a minor hurdle as I searched the internet on Saturday night for churches in the area that I wanted to check out. I found one that looked promising, wrote down the address, and got directions. Only one transfer and a little walking- no problem. So I thought.

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of rain outside my window. I debated for a second whether I really wanted to try the public transportation system on a day like this, but I quickly reassured myself that it would be fine. I showered, got ready, and searched the house for an umbrella. Sure enough there was one in the closet next to the front door. Perfect. I began walking the three blocks to the bus stop in the pouring rain convinced that it would let up any minute. It didn't, but I got to the corner of 67th and Lansdowne without getting too drenched.

I knew that I was at the right intersection for Bus 65, however, I had no idea what direction I was supposed to go. I wanted the 69th Street Terminal, but did that mean the left or right side of the street?. Left or right? Left or right? Do I guess and hope that I'm on the right corner. Thankfully at about that time a woman walked by and she seemed knowledgeable about these things. "Excuse me, do you know which side of the street I need to be on to get to the terminal?" If it wasn't obvious already it was now clear to her that I was new around these parts.

"Ummm," she said scanning me with her eyes, "you need to be over there." She pointed across the street.

"Thanks."

I splashed through the puddles along the curb, found a dry spot next to a daycare building, and began to wait. And wait. And wait. Fifteen minutes after the scheduled time Bus 65 finally showed up. "No problem." I thought to myself realizing that there was no way I was going to make the original service I had wanted to go to. "I'll just get off at University City. There is bound to be a church around that area starting about now."

I took the bus to the 69th Street Station, got on the subway, and made it to University City without any problem. I took a look around and didn't see any churches so I began to walk. I walked around University City for a good half hour and did not come across a single church. Disgruntled, I decided to walk up to the 30th Street Station to get some hot chocolate at McDonald's. Since McDonald's has come out with their "McCafe" I have been a big fan of the hot chocolate there. It's rich, sweet, and the drizzle of chocolate sauce on top of the whipped cream is the perfect touch to this delicious drink. Impressive for a burger joint.

"Can I please have a small hot chocolate?"

"A what?"

"A small hot chocolate, please. For here."

"Hey Yolanda, do we have hot chocolate?" The cashier called to her coworker.

"We don't serve hot chocolate here, ma'am." Yolanda shouted at me from the back.

"Can I get you something else?" The cashier asked me.

"Hmmm. You know, I think I'll just head over to Dunkin' Donuts." Dunkin' Donuts does not have rich, sweet, chocolate drizzled hot chocolate. And it costs more.

After my disappointing experience at 30th Street Station I gave up on finding a church and decided to go back to my house. Once on the subway, I began looking at the different stops along the way to the 69th Street Station. I was struck by the "Millborne" stop. It looked familiar and I thought that I could easily walk from that station to my house. By now the weather had cleared up and the sun was even peaking out. I was feeling adventurous and decided to try it. The best way to learn is from experience, right?

Millborne was not close to my house nor was it in an area that I was familiar with. In fact, the Millborne stop is not close to anything commercial at all. It's residential...row house after row house after row house of conformity. To an outsider it all looks identical. And yes, this presented a problem.

I walked around these row house-filled streets for awhile trying to find a street that I recognized, but nothing presented itself. Eventually I walked far enough to get to the next subway station (that must have a hidden or enchanted entrance- it took me forever to find it.) where I could proceed to my original destination: the 69th Street Station.

In the end, I made it to 69th Street, got on bus 65, and made it back to my house.

Defeated? Yes. Frustrated? Absolutely. Going to try again next week? You better believe it.

Current Updates

Hey Everyone!

I've now been in Philly for about 3 weeks and it feels like such a whirlwind! The first two weeks I was here I attended a training session with all of the other new Response-Ability teachers. (If I have not explained this program to you, visit www.ravolunteers.org to find out more). It was basically a crash course to teach us how to do classroom management, lesson plans, and dealing with everything that goes along with being a teacher. I had mountains of information thrown at me, but I feel much more prepared for the upcoming year. I was also able to connect with many veteran teachers in the Philadelphia area who are ready and willing to be resources for me. I feel very supported and am excited to get going!

Another exciting piece of information is that I officially got placed at a school! I will be teaching 4th grade at Visitation Catholic Elementary in Philadelphia. We don't start school until September 10th, so I have about a month to plan and prepare which is a huge blessing. Visitation is pretty big for a private school so there are two classes for every grade level. The other 4th grade teacher and I split the four main subject areas (math, science, religion, and social studies) so our students will switch rooms for the other two areas. It sounds like I will be teaching math and social studies to both classes and then Language Arts to my homeroom class. Next week is full of new teacher orientation meetings and I will also begin setting up my classroom and continuing lesson plans!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Here are some more prayer requests:

1. That God would provide me with a church and a Bible study group.

2. That God would prepare my students for this upcoming year and give me a heart of compassion as I work with children of poverty.

3. That Christians around the world would be attentive to the will of God and seek to give Him glory in all we do!

First Steps

 

            One of my favorite musical groups is Caedmon’s Call.   Their music is great but it’s the lyrics of their songs that have spoken to me deeply and brought me to tears on more than one occasion.  As former missionaries overseas, the members of CC  oftentimes sing about their cross-cultural experiences of  sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in an unfamiliar land so far from where they grew up.   “Faith my Eyes”, one of CC’s many “mission songs” talks about the discomforts and loneliness  that one encounters when being dropped into this kind of situation.  Friends and family have been taken away, cultural norms are not what they used to be, and  much of what  was valued in the former life is now worthless (i.e. job status, who you know, credentials, name brands, ect…)   Once accepted and normal, now strange and alien.   Once familiar and known, now foreign and outcast.  

            Hebrews 11 (aka The Great Faith chapter) discusses many of the men and women of the Old Testament whose faith carried them through adversary  and through whom God worked some might acts.   Though they were not able to see how events were going to turn out, they trusted the Lord and listened to his voice.  Perfect humans? Absolutely not! (prostitutes, murderers, liars,  and more) But they had faith in God and his beautiful plan.   Their situations were full of discomforts, uneasiness, and challenges, but God prevailed, kept his promises, and brought glory unto His Name!!   “God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. “ (Hebrews 11:40).   It’s only by FAITH that we can honestly and truthfully say to God, “ I am yours. Do with my life as you will.”  

            And so it is that I pray that the Lord would remove all doubt, anxiety, and self-reliance from our minds and replace is with faith in Him.  May He continue to work in our lives in a way that forces us to trust in Him and depend upon what He promises.  As the chorus of “Faith my Eyes” states, “Keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise, and I’ll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes. “  May that be our prayer together.