Hey ya'll. Trying to update my blog has proven to be near impossible while at training! My battery tends to last for all of about 5 minutes, and now I have 4 other people competing for use of this computer! Yes that's right...I officially have a staff! I have pictures of them as well as a picture of Chris and I, but I need to find a USB chord to connect my camera to the computer in order to upload them.

Last summer, Chris had a first year named Loren who is super cute and talented. He used to always joke that she would be placed as my returner and well...it actually happened! On saturday night, each CD was taken to a secluded location and told about their staff team. Apparently when I found out she was my returner I screamed so loud that all the first years and returners heard me. It was torture not giving the secret away, but somehow I managed to put my acting skills to use and legitimately convince her that I was not her CD.

On Sunday, we went to Natural Tunnel state park and had a picnic. Then we made the staffers run around and do silly things while we watched. For example: paint their faces with skittles, army crawl underneath a maze of string, and tie themselves together once they figured out their other staff team members. Finally, they had to sit under a blanket while still tied together and I ran up and threw the blanket off of them. Ta-da! Here is the breakdown of my staff:

Amy- 19 years old and a student of a tiny liberal arts school in Vermont (I think....I keep forgetting). She is super tiny and a fiery ball of energy. She'll be our operations coordinator this summer.
Bryan- Big, strong, and the single source of testosterone on our staff. Bryan is either 19 or 20 (I have a bad memory) and loves lacrosse. He is attending UNC and he'll be our finance coordinator for the summer.
Carla- Also either 19 or 20 and a student at UNC-Greensboro. Carla seems quiet but really down to earth and loves having one-on-one discussions with people. Carla will be our Supply coordinator for the summer.
Lorin- Lorin is a 20 year old slightly altered version of me. She is my returner and will also be the Volunteer coordinator this summer. Last summer she was in Wolfe County, KY. She attends a small liberal arts school in Minnesota but is originally from Nashville.

I have to go attend a session but I'll update more tomorrow or tonight. I have to tell you about county visit day! I know these updates seem rushed, but training has kept me constantly on the go. Hope everyone is doing well! Catch ya on the flip side ;-)

CD Training Update

Hey ya'll.

So CD training is almost over. The rest of the staffers will arrive on Wednesday afternoon, and then we will all be together for 10 days. As of right now, I'm feeling very happy and confident in my ability to be a good CD. I know there will be challenges and things that I'm not good at, and I also realize that during regular staff training I'll need to take some time to study construction and a few other things. But overall, I'm feeling comfortable. I'm trying not to stress out too early on, so I've mostly been relaxing whenever possible.

CD training has been really low key. We've had a lot of breaks and also spent a lot of time doing informal team building games/activities. Today, we went to Johnson City to meet with the front office staff of ASP and have a 'round table' discussion. Then we each drove a vehicle back to Jonesville. I got Herman, an old white ford pickup that often stalls and can only go 40 miles an hour on an incline. Luckily, there was no stalling and the drive was beautiful. I LOVE driving through the mountains. Also, being alone and getting to sing along with the radio obnoxiously is always one of my fav activities.

In some ways, I'm almost glad that I had to stay home last summer because I feel much more ready to handle the job than I did a year ago. But I guess we'll just have to see how things go!

oh, and here are two random pictures from yesterday. One is from when we were washing eachothers feet (like Jesus did with his disciples) and the other is from teambuilding.

Welcome to CD Training!

Hey guys! So I'm at training now, and things are going pretty well. I am running out of battery and have no place to charge nearby, so I'm going to just post some pictures and write an update later on. In the meantime: enjoy :)

On the Road Again

I'm sitting here listening to a CD that my mom gave me today. She is a home care nurse and apparently she met someone who volunteers for ASP every year! He is a Christian singer/songwriter and I'm checking out his songs. Anyways, the point is...it is crazy how often I meet or hear about people who have been involved with ASP in some way. And after they go once, people generally get hooked for good.

This is one of the reasons why I love my job! I get to meet awesome people from all over the country who are super thankful for the fact that I'm there to make their life changing week possible. I have a feeling that I won't find many future jobs where my 'customers' are so thoroughly grateful.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Indianapolis. I'll spend the night with a fellow Center Director (hi Shannon!) and then we'll caravan to Jonesville, VA for training on Friday. Center Director (henceforth CD) raining officially starts at 4pm on Friday the 21st of May.

WOOOHOOOOO. asdfapwoezxcv.erpowej.zxc,vjpwoairjz/.xz,cvjewoirjsdfxc (translation = HAPPYNERVOUSEXCITEDANXIOUSAHHHHHH)

I have the link to this blog posted on Facebook, but I didn't tell many people about it and I'm not expecting more then a few visitors throughout the summer. Mostly, I'm doing this to give my family a better idea of how my summer is going and also as a sort of online scrapbook for me to look back on later. However, feel free to read if you wish!

Oh, and just in case someone random DOES happen to find this, I suppose I should add the standard explanation: Appalachia Service Project is a non-profit emergency home repair ministry operating in VA, KY, WV, and TN that utilizes volunteers to help make homes warmer, safer, and drier. This summer during our Youth Program, 27 centers will be in operation. Each will be run by 4-5 college aged summer staffers who work for 12 weeks. We will see almost 15,000 volunteers throughout the course of the summer, and in the next 12 months we will probably work on over 500 homes. Okay, all done. goodnight for now :)