I'm LOVIN' it!

For nearly two weeks my friend Elaine has been walking around the Nightshelter singing a song: "I will bring praise! I will bring praise! No weapon formed against me shall remain! I will rejoice! I will declare! God is my victory and He is here . . . " I've FINALLY found out the name of the song and immediately came home and googled it:



Isn't is amazing?

Things have been going well. Ups and downs, actually, but God is good. The Father's Heart Conf was really good. I have about 6 hours to make up of work, though, since I went to morning and afternoon sessions for two days when I should have been working afternoons. I'm still working through some of the charasmatic stuff that transpired. I dunno. Not ready to really get into it on the blogosphere . . .

The highs of the conference definitely brought on some lows in the shelter. Friday night was massively difficult. (Does that phrase even make sense?) Tensions were high as some came in drunk and others wounded from fights out in the streets. So I shouldn't have been too surprised to have to step between two different guys during two different fights. Thankfully the peace of God was upon me -- I wasn't scared at all. My only concern was that I was going to watch a group of residents kill a guy and I couldn't stop it. My coworker, Chris, was leading and about ready to crap his pants! During the most intense fight one guy threatened to kill another because he had disrespected me. His girlfriend was trying to push him out of the room and once I heard, "Don't you EVER talk to Debbie like that again! I'll kill you! I'll kick your a$$ for talking to her like that!" then I immediately stood in front of him trying to get his attention to let him know I was ok and he didn't have to do what he was doing. We eventually got him out of the room and calmed down. And it struck me how loyal these guys are. He really would have beaten this guy up for me. Later in the night I was grateful the residents didn't hear what a new guy said. Esp since he was new, they wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Tonight was better. But my poor friend Bryan was on gate when 5 people came up for the ONE remaining bed. Before he had gone out there they asked me if it was ok that I was doing kitchen again and I said absolutely. I HATE having to turn people away. He had been in the same position as the residents just four years ago, so it was really hard on him. One guy didn't take it too well so got rather verbally abusive and threw things around outside and kicked the door. He left before the police came 'round.

Ok, so it may sound really intense and my mom is probably freakin' out while reading this (and I haven't even disclosed everything!), but it's all good! Seriously! And I'm lovin' it! It's amazing how much God protects us, too. No one's been hurt during the fighting; they don't even come to blows! Even though some have tried to come into the house when refused entry, they don't make it in. We all arrive and get back home safely. The support is AWESOME, as well. If an incident occurs we can immediately call the manager on call and talk the situation through with them and they are faithful to immediately pray for us.

Working at the Nightshelter may be a far cry from teaching Kindergarten, but I know I'm here for a reason and there's been so much grace. I still haven't experienced any major culture shock or homesickness. Sure I'd love a plate of tamales, pan dulce, and some Chick-fil-a (prob not all at the same time . . . ), but it's all good! Sure, I'd love to hang out with the fam and see some friends, but it's all good! Sure, I'd love to be HOME for the holidays, but it's all good! God is faithful and has brought me here for NOW and for a purpose. And being here, I feel like I've been here forever. Yet at the same time I can't believe it's passing so quickly! It'll be 4 weeks Thurs that I arrived. Unbelievable. And the managers at the Shelter have so much faith in me. It's a bit scary! I'm seconding loads the next few weeks. I'm actually leading one of the night shifts this week and leading a late shift next month. Scary! I'll be the one making the ultimate decisions if something kicks off. Yikes! But God is good! And He's equipped me to do this, right?

Anywho, as you can read, your prayers are much needed!