The Greatest of These is Love.

With March Madness, the opening of baseball season, the explosion of people caring about Prop 8, and working offshore, it's pretty easy to forget that Easter is this coming Sunday. During the winter holidays, families gather, you exchange gifts, eat grand meals, etc. and it's easy to remember how important these things are to you.

There is one main thing that I see that encompasses March Madness, Baseball, the Prop 8 debates, and Easter. That one thing is love. People love their basketball team and those basketball players love the game (Rock Chalk and Go Shockers!!). Then you have baseball. As Billy Beane says in Moneyball, "How can you not be romantic about baseball?" There is a love of the game that any true baseball player/fan cannot forget. Look at all of us that have suffered as Royals fans for so long just to see a BEAUTIFUL Spring Training by our team. You can't stay a fan of teams like the Royals, Pirates, Astros, etc if you don't have a love for your team and the game. Losing streaks are hard to bear, especially when your season is 162 games. Finally, you have the Prop 8 debates. Either side you see love for something. On one side, you see people with such a strong love for their religion and beliefs that they do not want to risk it becoming compromised. On the other side, you see such a strong love for all humans. You see a love for equality. You see people that love their friends, that support their friends that love each other. People that support LOVE.

So as my favorite holiday approaches, and many people forget the true meaning of Easter. Please remember that it's because Jesus died for our sins because he LOVED us then was raised on the third day. Please keep love in your heart. Express your feelings of love towards your family and friends. As 1 Corinthians 13 says: 

If I speak in human and angelic tongues - but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I usually try to avoid talking about politics and religion. I do not like being attacked for my beliefs or the possibility of somebody thinking that I am attacking them for theirs. So as we prepare to celebrate Easter, I am not asking anyone to change their views on gay marriage, March Madness (although Kansas will win it all), or baseball. I am just asking you to love. Please recognize that love is what should be surrounding you all day every day. Please look for and embrace the things you love. I believe that love is far too often overlooked in the world today. I ask you to not overlook love. Look for love that others may be missing. Express your love. Share your love!

Love,

Krystal

Adventures on the Ocean

Hello,

It's been almost 7 months since I last updated y'all on my life. Since then, a lot of things have happened:

• JVC ended
• I road tripped home with my mom, dad, and uncle
• We saw the Great Salt Lake, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, and some other cool places
• I visited a friend Montana over Labor Day Weekend
• Saw a Michael Franti concert at Big Sky
• I began my job for Geoservices - a Schlumberger company/moved to Houston
• OFS1 (orientation) the week of Sept. 10
• Mud Logging course Sept 17 - Oct 12
• First hitch began Nov. 8 (lasted until Nov. 29)
• My beautiful cousin Rachel got married on Oct 20 to her wonderful husband Jacob, I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid.
• After my first hitch on the Discoverer Spirit, I was able to make it to Toby's 2nd birthday party and have a small Christmas celebration with my family.
• I started my second hitch on the Discoverer Spirit on December 20 and was sent back to land on December 26.
• I spent New Years Eve in New Orleans with a lot of my good friends from college, including John, Clint, Andy, Jen, Chris Raff, Andrew Kronfol, Nicole, Ferf, and others.
• I returned to the Spirit for my third hitch on January 7 after being on standby in New Orleans for the 5th and 6th. This time we reached Total Depth and I returned to land on January 18.
• I ventured out to a new rig today, the DD1, for my 4th hitch. We should be starting the final section sometime next week, and then I should get to see oil in the samples again. I am not sure when I will return to land.

So that's a brief update of my last 7 months. I have been told that life on the oil rig must be fascinating. I don't find my life that fascinating, but maybe you will.

On my first hitch, I was on the Discoverer Spirit, a drillship in the Green Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico. I was sent to the rig for 3 weeks. During those three weeks, not too much memorable happened. I do remember walking back from the unit to the accommodations on the first night, feeling like I was on the Titanic and we might hit an iceberg at any moment. Thankfully, we were in the Gulf, so I was able to get that thought out of my mind and get plenty of rest. By the end of my first hitch, I'd made some friends on the Spirit. I was hoping to return.

The Discoverer Spirit can house around 150 people when at full capacity.

My next two hitches were also on the Spirit. I was lucky. I now knew the drill and I knew people on the rig. I started eating meals with more new people and being more social because I was hoping this would be the rig I was assigned to. By the time I left the Spirit after my third hitch, I would say that I have a good amount of friends out there for still being new. I do remember walking back to the unit one cloudy night on my third hitch thinking about how the sky looked like one you see in Harry Potter. Sometimes the smallest things can be magical. When you're offshore, it's often the sky.

Different regions of the Gulf of Mexico. I've worked in the Green Canyon region.

And now we're to my fourth hitch. After the Spirit hit total depth, I needed something to keep me busy during the months between wells. For now, I should be assigned to the Spirit for its next well, but I will be staying engaged and continuing to learn until the next well begins. My 2nd oil rig that I've had the honor of exploring is the DD1. It's much smaller than the Discoverer Spirit, but I've already begun making friends at meals. It may take some getting used to where things are, but I am sure things will go fairly smoothly during this section. The main thing I've heard about the DD1 is that they drill fast, so I'm excited to be put to the challenge.

The DD1 is a semi-submersible rig.

I've been asked many times if I like my job. I definitely do. There are some things I'd like to change (like with any job), but I do enjoy it. I really enjoy working offshore and meeting new people. It's much easier to meet people out here than it is in Houston. I definitely don't mind the work I do offshore. Sometimes it seems way too simple and other times I feel like I can't do anything right. The main thing is that instead of giving up and admitting defeat during those times, I go grab an ice cream from the galley after I get off of my shift. Then I might choose to exercise, but I always make sure I get a good nights rest after a rough day to make sure I can go out and prove that I will be good at my job. So, sometime next week, my new rig will start drilling. It will be at least 3 times faster than I'm used to. I will look at those drillers with a smile and run back and forth grabbing samples and describing them. After all, what good is a challenge if you don't conquer it?

-Krystal

Interview Recap

Hello world,

Nice to see you again. The interview in Houston went really well. It was very enjoyable. I had 5 hours in the hotel before the interview began, so I printed out our pre-interview assignment, ironed my clothes, used the fitness center, watched the Euro Cup championship game, and then got ready for the interview. I had a roommate, but Killena was really cool. She arrived at the hotel with a little less than an hour before the interview began. At 5pm, the interviews began. We were all gathered in the conference room and had to do introductions (15 men, 2 women), then we were shown a presentation. Then we had dinner, did a group project, then were issued coveralls, steel toes, a hard hat, and safety glasses for our tour the next day and dismissed. We all gathered in the hotel bar to socialize a bit before going to bed. At the end of the night, I was still there with 3 of the hiring managers and 2 others being interviewed. It was nice to see them in a social setting because we were able to ask them questions, but most importantly, we were able to get to know them. I quickly learned that they were very sarcastic and that my personality fit in perfectly.

The next day, we had breakfast and then left for a tour of the Sugarland training facilities. The facilities were really nice, we had a tour of an on-land oil rig, the research and development area, the classroom area, etc. They have a nice running path, some basketball courts, and some tennis courts. They also have a gym, but we didn't see that. After the tour, we headed back to the hotel, packed up, checked out of our rooms, and met in the conference room to be sent to our individual interviews. I was in the first half, and 2 of my interviewers were 2 of the 3 men I'd been BSing with the night before. For once, I wasn't nervous in an individual interview. I knew I could just be myself, so I was, and it went smoothly. Then we waited around for the bus to come get us and take us to the airport. At the airport, we rushed through security and a couple of us went for celebratory drinks before our flights. Boarded the plane, and headed home. My fun little free vacation was over.

I lounged around and did a lot of nothing that weekend. I was so exhausted from the whirlwind trip that I decided it was better to watch Season 3 of Big Bang Theory all day than to push my exhaustion further by going to caves and whatnot. Then we had the first week of July at work. Not too much of consequence happened. I was checking my email constantly, hoping that I would find out earlier rather than later about the job. They said it usually takes a week, but because of the 4th, it may take 2 weeks. At lunch on Friday, I found out my friend Todd got the job with Schlumberger and began to worry. I now knew one of the spots was taken (they usually hire about 30% of their interviews), and I still hadn't heard anything. Then, around 2:30pm, I had finally calmed down and stopped checking my email every 5 seconds, and then my phone notified me that I had an email. I opened it to see that I was offered the job!! I'm still very excited! It feels surreal.

So, I will be moving to Houston, TX, in September. My tentative start date is September 10. I have to turn in my acceptance paperwork by Wednesday, but I plan to turn it all in tomorrow. I have a month from when JVC ends and Schlumberger begins, so I will be able to road trip home with the family and spend some time in Kansas :) Hopefully I can fit in kayaking and a Royals game (anyone willing to go with me?). I should be able to meet my new nephew Nate and see his big brother Toby. Have a play date with Avery and Briggs. And, I should be able to make it to my beautiful cousin Rachel's bridal shower! Everything is finally falling into place, and I couldn't be more excited! There has been a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders now that I know what I'm doing next. I've always wanted to avoid Texas, but I guess it's time for Texas to have it's shot at winning me over. If nothing else, after I become well-trained, I should be able to move to Louisiana, which I know I love. :)

I hope all of your holidays went well, and that your week was as exciting as mine. Thanks for all the support you've all given me over the years, especially throughout this year. I love and miss you all and can't wait to see you again!

Cheers,
Krystal

Fast Recap

First things first, I apologize for taking so long to update my blog.


To catch you up on what I've been doing the last couple months:

In April, Loaves and Fishes had Bike Day, when a middle school from Nevada City, CA, brings down their bicycle repair shop and they fix bikes all morning. Then, after lunch, they raffled off around 60 bikes. It was a very exciting day. The next weekend, my house went on a trip to Yosemite National Park. It was the first time camping for Alice, Anne, and Nicole. It was a great weekend, and I actually met someone from Bronson, KS, while at Yosemite.

Then in May, we had silent retreat in Applegate, CA. It was beautiful, but I had bad allergies while we were there, so I felt really sick. I slept most of the time, but it was still a great experience. Then, from May 15-22, I was in New Orleans, LA. It was really nice to go back and see friends and go to graduation. I had a busy schedule (crawfish boil, wave goodbye, 3 baseball games, commencement, a wedding, John's birthday, visiting old employers and professors, etc.) but fit it all in and felt very relaxed. It was a much needed vacation to one of my favorite places. Upon my return, it was Anne's last week and a half with us, so we tried to do many things celebrating Anne.

Which brings us to June. Anne left us on June 1st to go begin the NYC teach fellows. I'm so proud of her! She's doing great things! On June 10th, Laura did the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon... It was so amazing! We were near the transition area and it was a blast to cheer on everyone as they showed how mighty the human body is! I'm still amazed and proud of Laura for that accomplishment. The next weekend, Kathleen and I puppysat Nimbus... It was really nice to see him again, he's gotten so big! And it was Cait's last weekend, she got a job in Denver and had to leave early. So we celebrated her time here and said goodbyes. This past weekend, I had a ultimate frisbee tournament for the frisbee league I'd been playing in (it started in May). We won all 3 games I was at (the easier teams all ended up scheduled in the morning), then I left for Grass Valley, and we evidently lost to the 2 harder teams we had to play. I went to Grass Valley to see The Machine play. They're a Pink Floyd cover band with the background music done by a symphony orchestra. I really enjoyed it. I got to see Alex's parents and younger sister. It was nice to have a weekend away. I was reminded just how much I love Grass Valley, so maybe I'll try to make another trip up there before I leave in August.

Looking ahead:

I have an interview with Schlumberger for a Field Specialist position in Houston on Thursday and Friday. They're flying us (there's a group of us) there, paying for our hotel, food, and transportation. I'm very excited to have this opportunity and hoping that it turns out well. Then on Saturday, I'm going to go to some nearby caves with Nick (or hopefully we'll be doing this). Resting on Sunday. The next weekend is the JVC Mock Wedding, so it'll be nice to be at a wedding and celebrate with friends even if it's a fake wedding. Sacramento JV goodbye party the next weekend (and maybe a trip to see Alex's family again). The next weekend is my birthday, and I believe we're going to SoCal to celebrate it since the very next day is Dis-Orientation near LA. Then it's our last weekend here. We finish work on August 3, and leave after work that day before August 8. I still don't know for sure when I'll be leaving, but I'm assuming August 4 or 5.

I hope all of you are having busy and exciting lives like I am. I'll try to update this more often, especially with how the job hunt continues.

Cheers,
Krystal

Busy March

Realizing that it's the end of March, I'm not sure where this month went! We've had quite a few visitors to Casa Iggy recently. At the beginning of March, our program coordinator Amber visited for a week. Lisa and CJ visited that Wednesday and we went to the Hornets at Kings game. Then that Sunday, I had a last minute visit from Alex and his mom and Darren. A week without visitors, then Katie came the next Sunday and stayed through Friday when I brought her to Reno. I stayed in Nevada for the weekend, and then it was this week!

Over Katie's visit, we hiked through Muir Woods along with taking in some sites near Sacramento. It was nice to meet her friend Lindsay who lives in Reno. Then over my weekend in Nevada, I got to spend time with Lisa and Meagan. We went to the Hunger Games.

This past week has been extremely busy. We have new Americorps volunteers. The two placed in Friendship Park are Terrin and Aaron. They're fantastic! Their team leader Travis is also around the park a lot. It's been great to have them around, especially at the end of the month. Yesterday, we took around 120 guests to the Sacramento Zoo. Most really enjoyed it, and it went very smoothly. It was the first Friendship Park field trip, but, hopefully, not the last. Today, Molly and I brought one guest, Kenneth, to low-income apartments. Molly has been helping get him into a program at an apartment complex and off of the streets. Kenny was extremely nervous, but did really well. After filling out the paperwork, we headed back to downtown Sacramento. The first song that came on the radio in Molly's car on the way home was one that Kenny really liked, so he quietly asked if she would turn it up. The rest of the car ride, he had a big smile on his face. It was really cute.

Although the month has been extremely busy, I still enjoy my job and community. I'm on the hunt for a job for next year and have been turning in some resumes and applications. I'll update the blog when/if I get a job lined up for August.

Thank you for all of your support. It really helps me get through the tougher days.

Love,

Krystal

An otter at the Sacramento Zoo

Relaxing Weekend

With the Green Wave starting baseball season off by sweeping Siena, I decided it was time to post another entry. This weekend, I've realized how lucky I am to have been blessed with the community I live in. Casa Iggy has had the parents/families of 3 of its members visit this weekend. It has been nice to meet everyone's families.

Friday, we had a large family dinner with 13 of us. Thanks to Laura's family for cooking. Yesterday, Laura's parents took us (Laura, Nicole, and I) to see The Artist at the Tower Theatre, and then eat dinner at the Tower Cafe. It was a nice evening. I really enjoyed The Artist and dinner was delicious. Then today, I got to spend the morning with Alex's mom. I gave her a tour of the house, then we went to breakfast at Crepeville.

Otherwise, I've just been relaxing and job searching. Earlier this week, I completed my application to become a JVC Recruiter, and I've sent my resume to a few places. I haven't heard back from anywhere, but I can't start until August anyway.

I've had a great weekend, starting with Tulane and the Hornets winning on Friday through relaxing on the couch, writing this blog. Now if only I could've been in New Orleans celebrating Mardi Gras...

-Krystal

Weekend Adventures

Since the holidays ended, I've been staying fairly busy on the weekends. I've finally had the opportunity to explore more of California and have some wonderful adventures. They all begin with the 3-day weekend around the New Year. Kathleen (one of my roommates) had a college friend whose family was visiting San Francisco, so Kathleen, Anne, and I made a trip to San Francisco on Monday, January 2. We walked around Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square, etc. It was nice and relaxing, and my first time actually walking around San Francisco and not just driving to Candlestick Park and back.

Kathleen, myself, and Anne in Ghirardelli Square

Then I'd asked for a 3-day weekend (January 6-8) so that I could go see the Redwoods with my friend, Alex. He had to drop his sister off at the airport on January 5, so he came to Loaves and Fishes and volunteered around Friendship Park for the afternoon. Then he brought me up to Grass Valley for dinner with his family before starting the real adventures on Friday.

On Friday, we drove from Grass Valley up through the Avenue of the Giants (Humboldt State Park). We went on a couple short hikes through the redwoods. They were everything I'd hoped they would be. They're so grand, it's indescribable. We drove through a redwood in his mom's Toyota Sequoia (which we though was cool since sequoias are a type of redwood). It was a wonderful day. We left the land of the large trees when it got too dark for us to hike anymore, and headed over to Highway 1 and drove it down to Fort Bragg. It was almost a full moon, so the sky was lit up, and you could see the waves crashing against the cliffs we were driving on. We pulled off at a turnout and stargazed and admired the ocean for a little while. When we got to Fort Bragg, we had dinner, watch K-State lose the Cotton Bowl, then went to sleep.

Driving through Chandelier Tree

Saturday morning, we went to MacKerricher State Park. We were hoping to see whales migrating, but we only saw lots of birds and seals. Then we headed to Mendocino, CA, and did a nice little walk along the cliffs by the ocean. It was a beautiful area of California. We sat down on a cliff for a while to enjoy nature's beauty, and when we were getting up, this nice man asked us if we wanted him to take a picture of us. I gave him my camera and he took 4 or 5 pictures, then handed it back and said "They're frame-able." Then we moseyed back to the car and headed for Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. When we got to the lighthouse (a half-mile walk from our car), someone told us there were tons of whales migrating! Then we realized we'd left the binoculars in the car, so we just looked for the tails splashing. We guarantee we saw some whales migrating, but it would have been nicer with binoculars. The lighthouse was quaint and beautiful. Then we looked at the time and decided we needed to head back to Sacramento so we could meet up with other Tulanians and watch the Saints beat Detroit. We went to MVPs Sports Bar, watched the game. Then went to Pine Cove with my house to celebrate/end the day.

Alex and I in Mendocino, CA

Sunday morning, we headed up to Fort Ross. We took a nice pit-stop at the Jelly Belly Factory, and then drove up through wine country. Fort Ross was a really cool Russian fort. It's currently being restored, so we weren't able to go in all of the buildings, but we got to go in most of them and down to the beach. Then we hiked to the other side of the fort and sat on the cliffs for a while. About an hour before sunset, we decided to move to a beach where the Russian River meets the Pacific and watch the sunset over the ocean. It was about 45 minutes closer to Sacramento, and we had to pick Alex's sister up from the airport that evening. When we got there, Alex decided he should go play in the water, I knew from how cold it was on my feet that I didn't need to actually go in. Then we watched the sunset and headed back to Sacramento. After picking his sister up then grabbing dinner, they dropped me off and the weekend was over. It reminded me how much I love nature and a lack of human influence on it. The redwoods and the ocean were just so beautiful, and the reason they were was because there weren't buildings and bridges everywhere.

Sunset near where the Russian River enters the Pacific.

The next weekend, I played in a beach ultimate frisbee tournament (Lei Out, in Santa Monica) with Kathleen and her friend from SLU, Colleen. Our team won the J-bracket (2nd from worst bracket). It was a nice, exhausting weekend, filled with more sunsets over the Pacific.

Santa Monica Pier around sunset.

The weekend of the 21st was my one weekend in Sacramento in January. We celebrated Nicole's 24th birthday, and we relaxed.

Re-Orientation started on Friday, January 27, and lasted until Tuesday, January 31. It was a nice retreat back at Camp St. Francis in Aptos, CA. There was good food, good people, good talks, and more nature. We had quite a bit of reflection time, most of which I tried to spend outside either laying in the grass looking at the sky, or walking down on the beach/laying in the sand looking at the stars. It was very relaxing and much needed.

February weekends are looking to be in Sacramento. Last Saturday, I played some softball, but otherwise relaxed. Then Sunday, we watched the Super Bowl at home (thank goodness the Patriots lost). Last night, I went to the Newman Center's St. Valentine's Formal. Today, will just be grocery shopping and softball. I'm hoping that next weekend I'll make it to some Mardi Gras celebrations. I know Nevada City isn't too far away and has a parade, so here's to hoping I can make it out of town one weekend.

Well, those have been my adventures... Now I need to get ready to go grocery shopping... If you'd like to see more pictures, I have them posted on facebook.

-Krystal

Blue Hat Mark

Today, I realized how important I am in one man's life. A former guest, now part-time employee (blue hat) at Loaves and Fishes, has been presented with the opportunity to chase his dreams. On December 8, Friendship Park received a new coffee pot through the Sacramento Bee's Book of Dreams (http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/21/4071833/book-of-dreams-2011.html). The reporter that came to take pictures was so touched by Loaves and Fishes that she decided to come back, see how guests liked the new coffee pot, and write the story herself. When she came back, Blue Hat Mark had written a poem. He shared it with her as a "thank you" for the coffee pot (Mark volunteers in the coffee shack in the mornings). She then decided to change her story and put more focus on him and his poem.

Since then, the Sacramento Bee has done a story just on Blue Hat Mark (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/03/4158583/homeless-sacramento-poet-climbs.html). This story then brought attention to Mark and many wanted to help him by providing paper/pens, or inviting him to provide poetry for a poetry benefit. Many great gifts were given from many different people. One couple donated their old laptop for him to be able to type up his poetry and hopefully make a book. Others have told him that they're willing to publish a book for him when he's ready.

With all of these gifts, Mark has become very busy with his poetry. He never had classes on computers growing up, so he's still learning how to use Microsoft Word in order to prepare his poetry. He calls me his IT person. I've never considered myself to be that excellent at computers, but I've learned that compared to some, I do know a lot. I've been able to help Mark with a lot over the past month or two, but I realized how important to him I was today.

This morning, Mark told me he needed help on the computer when I got time. I told him to remind me when I wasn't behind the service counter. Then it became lunch time. While I was at lunch in the Mustard Seed School courtyard, Green Hat Tim came by and told me that Mark needed my help when I got back from lunch. I had completely forgotten! Upon returning from lunch, I made it my top priority to make sure I helped Mark after he got off work (he stamps the lunch tickets). Around 12:55pm, I headed over to the pastry shack (where he stamps tickets) to make sure I wouldn't get caught up and could help him.

I found out that a toolbar on Word had disappeared and that some of his poems were being erased when he was copying them into the book. Both of which were easy things that I could fix. I showed him how to view toolbars, then I had him get his jump drive out. I copied the poems from his jump drive to the computer/in the files they should have been in. Then I showed him how to copy and paste. That's when I found out he was cutting and pasting (why the poems were disappearing). After I'd helped him with everything, he grabbed some napkins, wiped his face, then blew his nose. I thought he was on the verge of tears. He was so happy that I'd been able to fix everything and things were how they were suppose to look.

Mark is a sweet man. I am excited for things to be looking up in his life. Before he started working part-time, stamping tickets, at Loaves and Fishes, he hadn't had a job in 8 years. I'm very happy that I can be here to watch him get back on his feet. Hopefully, this writing dream will keep him safe and get him back inside. Mark has been very blessed in the recent months, and I hope that blessings like his appear in many other of the guests' lives as well.

-Krystal

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Sacramento!

Since my last post, work has had some really stressful days. With it being the holiday season, we are getting a lot of donations (which is great!). All of these donations mean extra traffic on North C Street (where Loaves and Fishes is). This traffic just makes work seem busier even though I rarely deal with the donations. The holiday season is either excellent or very hardening on our guests though. I think this is the hardest part. Some are in really high spirits, and others are depressed that they have no where better to go during this season. That being said, some of the Scrooges have caused some ruckus at the Park in the last couple weeks.

With all of that said, Christmas has been excellent to me out here. Yesterday my roommate Nicole and I went to church with our boss Garren and his wife Linda. They go to the church that has our Monday morning volunteers as 2 of its pastors, so we got to see Brennan and Mark and their families last night as well. Then after service, Nicole & I got to go to Christmas Eve dinner at Garren & Linda's daughter Kim's house. It was a wonderful Christmas dinner. We met the family and enjoyed the food and company. Then we left early so we could get home in time to head to the Cathedral for mass. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is always gorgeous, but last night it was even more beautiful. I think the beauty was in the fact that it was the first time that I'd been there that it didn't feel empty. It's a very large building, and the middle pews are usually the only ones full, but last night the side ones were filling up as well.

Then this morning, I woke up and went downstairs by our tree to get ready to skype home and celebrate (as much as I could) with my family. Nicole was already up making biscuits and gravy. So around 7am Pacific time, I was able to skype the family and open presents together. I got a lot of great gifts, and way more gifts than I'd expected. Then I had to say goodbye so I could eat some biscuits and gravy before heading into work.

I was not looking forward to working on Christmas. I was trying to pretend that I'd enjoy it, but I really enjoy just being lazy around a house all day on Christmas and spending time with family. Today, work reminded me how much everyone at Loaves is a family. It was beautiful! There were many little miracles all around. The biggest miracle I saw today happened while I was on the street talking to Jose. It was my first time to really talk to him, and I enjoyed our conversation. At one point during our conversation, and older Hispanic man came up to ask where Jose got the sleeping pad he was holding. Jose told him that he'd gotten it from SafeHaven, but that there were no more. Then he saw the man look a little down, and Jose asked if he needed one. When the man said yes, Jose handed the man his sleeping pad. To me, that was such a grand gesture for one man sleeping on the ground to make to another. It was a beautiful day at work. Everyone was saying "Merry Christmas" or "Feliz Navidad". We had no fights. No one had to be kicked out. It was amnesty day, so even those who are 86'd were able to join us for the day. It was truly beautiful.

Tonight, Nicole and I are having Christmas Dinner with the founders of Loaves and Fishes. It's nice to know that even though I'm a couple thousand miles from home, I still have family out here and I'm not alone on the holidays. I hope that your Christmas has been as wonderful as mine!

Feliz Navidad!

-Krystal

Miracles During The Holiday Season

After a much needed break back home for Thanksgiving, I have found myself more enthusiastic about work. My first full day back was yesterday.

Before I left for Kansas, Loman (a middle-aged guest) asked me to bring him something back from home. I agreed to, but then couldn't find anything that I thought he could actually use that also showed it was from Kansas. On our drive West, we stopped at a gas station. I knew that a gas station would have a postcard, or snow globe, or something Kansas. Then I saw a KU beanie. It's becoming winter, so I KNEW that Loman could use a beanie. I picked it up for him and then continued the drive, hoping he wasn't a K-State fan. Anyways, so yesterday at work, I was about to head to lunch and saw Loman sitting on his bench. I went into the office, put the beanie in my pocket, and went to sit and talk with him and wait a bit longer before I took lunch. When I gave Loman the beanie, his face lit up and he gave me a big hug. I never expected that a beanie for a team that I guarantee he could care less about would make him so happy. It made my day just to know that such a simple gesture can go so far. He put it on right away, and I haven't seen him without it on since. It really touched my heart just to see someone so happy.

Oh, we also had a horseshoe tournament at the park yesterday. It was fantastic! I helped Green Hat Tim run it even though I didn't know much at all about horseshoes. We had an odd number of guests, so I teamed up with one of them to make sure he could play too. It was great to see 15 guests pair up in teams and compete. Everyone had a great time watching and playing. It really was a miracle to just see so much joy in the park yesterday.

Then we have today. As you may or may not know, I'm not an activist. I don't feel comfortable at protests, and I just don't enjoy feeling uncomfortable. Well, today, SafeGround was holding a press conference to bring attention to the fact that they've been herded along the river, and now the police are trying to evict them from the last place they had to go. My boss really wanted me to go to the press conference with him, but I kept trying to think of ways to get out of it. Eventually he reminded me that Social Justice is one of the pillars of JVC, so I decided to go even though I'd feel uncomfortable. We got to SafeGround, and I walked along the bike path with Green Hat Jackie to see what the camping area looked like. It was amazing to finally see where so many of my friends/guests live. After walking along the bike path, we came down from the levee and started talking to some of our friends.

I talked to this young man Michael. He's 23 and has been hitchhiking for the past 9 months. He's originally from Georgia. He was telling me what it's like to live at SafeGround, especially with the weather conditions that sometimes occur (like our recent extremely windy days). The thing that touched me the most during our conversation wasn't that he's only a year older than me and homeless. It was that he keeps in touch with his parents and can go back to Georgia whenever he pleases, but that he doesn't want to leave until the SafeGround issues are solved for his friends. I'd never really gotten to talk to Michael much, he usually just stops by the park for a short period (which I found out is because he has a dog, Slayer, that isn't fixed and, therefore, can't go in our kennel). I remember the first day I remembered his name, the shock and happiness on his face. Through my conversation with Michael today, I learned so much more about him than I ever had at the park. I couldn't believe that he could go home at any time, but he would prefer to be homeless and stand up with his friends that he's only known for a month or two. Michael gained a lot of respect from me today. It's hard to stand up for something you believe in when you're in a good situation. When standing up for what you believe in puts you in a bad situation, well I know it's not something I could ever do. Michael showed me the strength of real friendship. I will always thank Michael for that.

I hope that during this holiday season, we can all be more like Loman, the horseshoe players, and Michael. Let us appreciate the little things, the time with each other, and our friends. Every person has a lot to appreciate. If anyone can teach you to appreciate life, it's the homeless. Stop and talk to one. Ask him/her their name. Smile and don't look put-off by them. Some of the nicest people in this world don't have a roof to sleep under. One may be living in your neighborhood. Please, take the time to say hello.

-Krystal

A Loaves Thanksgiving

I apologize for taking so long to update. It's so easy to get caught up in life. I come back to my blog on Loaves & Fishes' Thanksgiving. I realize Thanksgiving is still 2 days away, but Loaves celebrates the Tuesday before due to the abundance of Thanksgiving dinners offered in Sacramento. Thanksgiving was the first main holiday that I was able to see celebrated at Loaves and Fishes (I was sick on Halloween, but it also wasn't as big of a celebration).

Today we fed 1,052 guests, as well as the staff of Loaves and Fishes. That is an extremely large number, but I don't think of that as the miracle I saw today. The miracle could be the homeless guests enjoying the music of the blues band playing on our deck throughout the day. Seeing a crowd around the deck and watching people dance around and have a great time. The miracle might be all of the volunteers who came to help us today rather than spend a day at work or with their families. Maybe the miracle was the line of stocking caps, gloves, scarfs, etc. waiting for the guests as the exited lunch. It could even be as simple as seeing one of the guests that used to come every day but hadn't been at the park in at least 2 weeks.

Sure, there were people that got kicked out of the park today. Some for disrespecting staff and trying to start fights. Others for bringing drugs and alcohol into our drug free environment. The few that tried to cause trouble could not succeed in bringing down everyone's day. There were too many people and too much love for 4 or 5 people to ruin the day. It was a beautiful day at Friendship Park. It was neither too cold nor too hot. The trees are in their fall colors and looking gorgeous in the blue sky. Most importantly, you can just feel the love in the air. It's definitely the holiday season. You can feel it without snow on the ground, hot chocolate in your hand, and your immediate family around. The guests are each others' families. Loaves and Fishes is a beautiful and unique organization. It's somewhere that you have to visit to understand, and then you have to reflect to realize how beautiful of a place it truly is. I'm sure that I've already mentioned this in a previous post, but back in September, we had a carnival at the park celebrating it's 20th anniversary. At the carnival, I'd made cotton candy all day (which was a big hit, the guests love their sugar). The director of Loaves and Fishes, Sister Libby, mentioned to Garren and Jim (my bosses) that we were in the "Kingdom of Heaven." On days like today, and the carnival, I realize how much I believe her statement.

Pies being cut for Thanksgiving Dinner. (Pumpkin, Pecan, & Apple)

Donations of socks and underwear from the First Responders.

Growing Stronger

Today, I've realized how strong I've become in the 2 months since I began working at Friendship Park. The first couple of days, I tried to tag along with someone else, and would talk to people that the staff would introduce me to. I just kept going back to them as safety nets. I didn't want to work the ticket window because I didn't want everyone to be mad at me for taking so long. I didn't hide, but I was usually worried. When I saw my first fight, I was so flustered. I had to go into the office and just sit there for a bit.

This morning started off with Molly and I needing to choose between working the ticket window when we opened or sugar. I gladly volunteered for the ticket window and let Molly go do sugar. Then on one of my morning breaks, I went and talked with one of the guests, Charles. I'd remembered his name for a while at the ticket window, but I hadn't had a real conversation with him yet. I talked to him until 5 til 11am. Then, I went back to the ticket window, where I worked while the first group went to lunch. At 11:30am, I went to lunch with Molly and the JVC recruiter, Catherine, who was volunteering at the park for the day. The Italian Pasta was delicious!

Upon returning to the park after lunch, I hung out around the service counter talking with Cait who works next door and was taking a break. Then a fight broke out right by where I was (I'm not sure why I'm by so many of the fights), and instead of stepping away and yelling for a green hat, I grabbed one of their bags and pulled him away so that the male green hats could get between them and calm them down. I wasn't really needed, but it felt great to now have that courage rather than running away.

Then I began to play cards (Rummy) with Jackie (fellow employee) and two of the guests, Robert and Anthony. Robert is 94 years old! He was saying that his daughter is turning 74 tomorrow, but I thought he was turning 74. Then later while playing cards, Robert checked his phone and found out he has a new grandson! He's a great guy! I was happy to finally talk to him more. After cards, I went to clean up the service center, grabbed cardboard boxes to take to the dumpster and got stopped by Houston and James. I ended up talking to them until the park closed, and just had a fun time.

It's weird to think how much has changed in just 2 months. Most of which is indescribable. I can't imagine what I'll be like by the end of the year, or even in a little over a month when I go home. This experience keeps me on my toes and changing.

In other news, I've found a sports bar that I'm very fond of, so if you're here on a Sunday during football season, you will probably find me there watching all of the games. That may be where I watch the World Series at as well. I still play frisbee every Saturday morning, but I also joined a league team on Wednesdays. We've won our first two games, but will evidently be up against a very tough team soon.

I hope all is well on your end, wherever you are!

Cheers,

Krystal

Patricia's Hope

Yesterday morning, I was working at the lunch ticket line virtually all morning. I've begun to learn many of the guests names, so I used the day as a challenge to remember as many as I possibly could since I was giving basically everyone their lunch tickets. Probably around 10am when the line had been calm for a while, a woman that I love came up to the window. I typed Patricia's name into the computer and asked her how she was doing. There wasn't a line, so we could talk, but I expected what I got from most guests, "Fine, how are you?". Instead, Patricia surprised me. Patricia began to tell me her tale of woes from the day. She was staying at a shelter, and the shelter had let her family know she was there. At first, I was confused as to why one wouldn't want her family to know where she is if they're wanting to help. Then, I continued to listen to Patricia. I found out that when she'd needed her family the most, they were not there. They're coming back into her life when she's getting better and figuring things out on her own. Patricia is afraid that by coming into her life, her family is going to end up disrupting her progress. At this time, a line was forming behind Patricia at the counter, and she had begun to cry. I reached across the counter, patted her on the back with one hand and held her hand with my other. I assured her that she is an amazing woman and that her progress will only stop if she lets it. That if she does not want to be in contact with her family, she does not have to be. I let her know that Loaves & Fishes, Friendship Park especially, would always be there for her. When I told her that she is part of our family, her eyes lit up, and she began to smile. You could still see the pain in her eyes, but you could see hope too. She cheered up, thanked me for listening, and moved along with her day so that I could also move along with mine. My moment with Patricia yesterday was one of the most touching that I have had so far in my time at the park.

I think that the Bible is right when it says, "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13. Faith, hope, and love are all things that I think I took for granted before this year. I have always been privileged enough to just know they're there. I would experience them every now and then, but I never really thought about the affect that faith, hope, and love have on our lives. Throughout the past month and a half, I've learned that being able to show guests that I have faith in them, gives them hope, and gives us mutual love and respect for each other. The hope that I saw in Patricia's eyes was enough to reassure me that God does exist in every one of us.

I sometimes think about the 4th of July when one of my cousins asked me why I was moving across the country to make no money and help people I don't know. I remember not having an answer for him at the time, but the longer I'm here, the more reasons I keep coming up with. Right now, my answer would be that I was lucky enough to have been born into a loving family, and now it is my time to share the love that has been passed onto me with others. Strangers are only strangers until you exchange greetings. Introduce yourself, and now they're an acquaintance, moving towards a deeper relationship/friendship. I have many friends throughout the country, and I can't imagine having done anything other than make hundreds of friends at Friendship Park this year.

-Krystal

A Day Working in Friendship Park

This morning, I woke up at 6:15am. I rolled out of bed and changed into capris and an XL Loaves & Fishes t-shirt. Finished getting ready, and started the walk to Friendship Park with 2 of my roommates.

We arrived at the park a little late (6:50am) and finished setting up the service center. Then the staff circled up for morning prayer. The clock then turned to 7am and we opened to gates to the public. I was working the lunch ticket line this morning. There were a surprising number of people that had never been to Loaves and Fishes before in line this morning, but the computer put-putted along while I entered names and clicked them so that we would know they'd received a lunch ticket. At one point, one of the guests came up and started spelling his last name for me. I told him that I already had him covered, and he was shocked! He said that in the 6 months he's been coming, no one could remember his name/how to spell it. Seeing the joy when I can remember someone's name is one of the favorite parts of my day. Last week, I remembered one of the other guests names, and he had the same reaction. I love being able to get that reaction because I think it makes them feel like somebody really cares, and that they're not just another lunch ticket.

A little later, I entered a guest into the computer and smiled, said "Have a great day!" He looked back at me and said "Smile again." I did. He then said "You have a beautiful smile, I'd buy you McDonald's every day." (Thank you mom & dad for getting me braces!) It was really sweet, yet sad that to all of my friends in the park, McDonald's is classy.

Then, it was almost 11am, and I was talking to two of the guests. They were asking me how I picked Sacramento/Loaves and Fishes, so I was trying to explain the process when another guest came up with a question. They allowed me to help him, and while I was looking for the answer he wanted, yet another guest came up to me hollering that someone was having a seizure. I had to leave the two men I was talking to, the man that I was trying to answer a question for, and hurry out of the park to the nearby alley along 12th Street to help a woman having a seizure.

When I arrived, another green hat was already there. I stayed to help him keep people away from her and direct the paramedics where they needed to go. One of the street monitor green hats came and was on the phone with 9-1-1 when he arrived by us. He didn't know the woman's name or anything, so he had to pass the phone over to me so that I could answer the few questions that I knew the answer to. After I'm done talking to 9-1-1, he leaves and goes back to monitoring the street. A woman on her way to mass was walking down the alley way and stopped and prayed for our guest until the paramedics arrived. She seemed like one of those people that tries to push their religion on others, but I really think she was the angel looking over this lady. Right before the woman left, our guest started slowly waking up from her seizure. Then the paramedics arrived, and I told them what I knew while two other green hats stopped traffic through the alley way. Once I'd told the paramedics all I knew, one of the green hats told me I could leave and go to lunch.

I then returned to the Park, answered the question that the one man had been asking me, apologized to the two men I'd had to leave in mid-conversation, and grabbed my water bottle to head to lunch. Today, lunch was chili dogs, corn/vegetable medley, potato wedges, pears, and chocolate chip cookies. It was tasty, but very filling. It was very nice to get that break right after dealing with a seizure though.

After lunch, I returned to the service counter and worked the service counter side for a bit. Then the other volunteers returned, and we were closing the ticket window (it closes at 12:45pm, lunch ends at 1pm). So I put the window up and locked it. Then I started stamping tickets for next week in the chair by the computer while our Wednesday volunteers worked the service counter.

At 2pm, we did JV trivia, and today, the questions were easy enough that we didn't have to find new ones to ask. The park is only opened for 45 minutes after JV trivia, so I was busy getting things ready for close. I emptied the garbage from behind the service counter, finished stamping a stack of tickets, and then closed the service counter at 2:30pm and helped my co-workers lock the cabinets and put things away. After the park closed at 2:45pm, we had a short staff meeting where I told my highlight of being told I have a beautiful smile. Our boss mentioned that someone had sneaked their dog into the park and it'd had babies there today. Then around 3pm, we headed home.

Now that I'm home, it's time to start preparing for my roommate Kathleen's birthday. We're having pulled pork, sweet potato fries, green beans, and cake tonight to celebrate! :) I'm excited.

There you have it though, a day in the life of a Jesuit Volunteer at Friendship Park. Every day is different.

-Krystal

Getting Busier

I just realized that it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I'm going to try to become better at updating everyone that reads this. I've felt very busy these past 2 weeks, but I don't think I've actually been too busy. Most nights after work I don't really do anything, but then weekends fly by because I seem to always be doing something.

Last weekend started on Thursday, Sept 8. It was my friend Drew's birthday and we all celebrated him by watching the first game of regular season. Sadly, the Saints lost to the Packers, but I suppose there are worse teams they could lose to... Then my house had Spirituality night on Friday. On Saturday, I played frisbee with Newman, then my ride was playing with other friends too, so I played with them after Newman... After about 4 hours of frisbee, I went home. That evening, we were having a birthday party for Cait at the Mercy Volunteers house (her birthday was on Monday, Sept. 12). Then that Sunday, we had a welcoming BBQ at the MV house. It was a busy weekend.

Work went pretty well this past week. We had 2 FJV's over for dinner on Monday night, then the MV's over for dinner on Tuesday. We had spirituality night on Wednesday, then volunteer orientation for the Women's Empowerment Gala on Thursday. We celebrated Mexican Independence Day on Friday. Went to frisbee on Saturday, but only Newman frisbee. Then I went out to eat with Nick, Laura, and Tyler afterwards. Then met up with my house as they finished eating. Hung out for a bit before leaving for dinner and the Mountain Lions game with Nick. Mountain Lions weren't very good, but it was still fun to go. It felt kind of like a high school/college game. Afterwards, we went to Joe's house, had some delicious homemade ice cream, watched Psych, then headed home. This morning I had a one-on-one with one of our support people which was really nice, and now I'm watching the Raiders lose to Buffalo (barely, it was a close game) and watched the Saints win via NFL Game Center... It's been a good football weekend with Tulane winning 49-10 yesterday! Too bad the Chiefs are HORRIBLE this year.

No good stories have really occurred at work within the past two weeks. This Thursday, there was a SafeGround Jubilee which we marched from Friendship Park to Cesar Chavez Park (where the Jubilee was) in solidarity with the homeless, trying to get them a permanent spot to sleep at night. This is the first winter in a long while in which Sacramento won't have extra emergency shelters for the homeless, so a SafeGround will be especially necessary. It was really amazing to be involved in the jubilee and stand up with the homeless. There have also been 4 seizures at the park this past week. I'm not sure why I hadn't seen a single seizure at the park, then 4 happen in one week, but I suppose that's the park for you.

In other news, I found out that I can take Thanksgiving off, so I'll be flying home (arriving at MCI around 10am on Thanksgiving). I'll get to spend Thanksgiving with the family (so you better all be there!), then I'll be going to Penny's wedding on Saturday (so excited!!! Didn't think I'd be able to make it), seeing everyone at mass on Sunday, then driving Bella (my mazda) back to Cali with mom and dad. I'm so excited to get to go home, even if it's just for a couple days. It'll also be really nice to get a car for our house. It'll be helpful for grocery shopping, and especially for making it to frisbee on Saturdays and mass on Sundays. I can go to the Cathedral, but Newman is more of a community, so I prefer going there.

I hope all is well with each of you. Maybe something exciting will happen this week so that I will remember to update yall. Thanks for all of your support!

God bless,

Krystal

60% of the Time, It Works Every Time

Today, the Newman Center at Sacramento State had an ultimate frisbee tournament instead of just playing some pickup games like normal. We got there and they told us what teams we were on (they created the teams so that they'd be fairly even). I was on Team 3 with some of my favorite players and some people I hadn't met before. I was on a team with Alex, Erick, Joe, Clare, Sage, and LT. Erick arrived late, and we were playing Team 4 for the first round robin game. We were behind 3-0 when Erick finally arrived. Their 7th player finally got to start playing, and we finally had Erick. We then ended up winning the game 5-3.

Team 3 continued to work hard and played Team 1 right after, for round 2 of round robin. We took that game 5-2. Then we got a break. by our break, we were the only undefeated team left. On our break, we kept warm and practiced throwing/catching. We also decided that Team 3 wasn't cutting it as a name, so we became the Sex Panthers (60% of the time, it works every time). Break ends and we have to go play Kathleen, Laura, and Justin's team (Team 5). I was really nervous to play their team. Their entire team is really good, so I knew they'd be difficult. We ended up winning 5-3, and guaranteeing our spot in the playoffs. Then we have our final game of round robin against Team 2. We know we'll be in the playoffs, but we decided to work hard and try to remain undefeated. We ended up doing so with another 5-3 (maybe it was 5-4) victory. So everyone got a little break while the playoff teams were determined and we took a picture of everyone playing.

Playoffs ended up being Sex Panthers v. Team 5 and Team 2 v. Team 4. The game against Team 5 was extremely close. We got pretty far behind and had to come back. We ended up making it back to 4-4. Then on universe point, we finally scored and got ahead. So we're exhausted, but we're entering the championship game. Team 2 won on the other field to make the championship game. We're exhausted, but determined to not go home empty handed. We get behind 2-0 and decide to make up a chant to pump us back up. Joe lead, and we did our Sex Panther chant. It seemed like it was going to help at first because we all ran down the field with a lot more energy, but then Team 2 scored and made it 3-0. Finally we scored making it 3-1. We decide that we have to take it 1 point at a time and not worry about winning. Erick bringing up one point at a time, was possibly what got us through the game. It ended up being 4-1, then 5-3. Thank goodness we decided to play to seven. The people leading the tournament asked (when Team 2 scored their 5th point) if we just wanted to end it at 5 instead of playing to 7. All of Sex Panther agreed we couldn't give up, even if they scored 2 right away and beat us, it'd be better than giving up. Then we came back slowly but surely. 5-4... 5-5... and finally we take a lead at 6-5. It was our first lead of the game, and we only needed one more point to win. It seemed like it took forever, but we ended up getting the frisbee to Clare in the end zone to score our 7th point winning us the championship and keeping us undefeated.

It was an awesome experience, but it exhausted me for the day. I really enjoyed playing, and our team was very team oriented, we didn't have just a couple people that we used, we used everyone a lot. I was really nervous about playing the other teams because I knew who all of the all-star players were, and I wasn't sure that we'd been lucky enough to get one. It reminded me that you don't need an all-star on your team when you have communication and teamwork. I really am proud of my team. There were many times that we could've given up, especially in the championship game, but we kept at it like the turtle against the hare. Slow and steady wins the race.

Congratulations Sex Panthers! Hopefully we can defend our title in the Spring!

-Krystal

Ups and Downs

After a long day at work, I decided I'd update my blog. I realized that in my last post, I don't think I mentioned too much of what I've been doing for fun out here. I do work more than anything else, but I have time for fun. I don't do much after work on the weekdays because (as of right now) I'm drained by the time work ends. On the weekends, our house tries to find fun things to do. The first weekend we were here, we went to Second Saturdays which is an art thing, and then to Hamburger Patties (a bar that does karaoke on Saturdays).

The second weekend we were here, we went to Old Sacramento. We walked around a little bit, then headed to the Eagle Theatre to go watch some silent movies. They were the first silent movies I ever remember watching. The first one was The Playhouse which stars Buster Keaton (for all of you that don't know, Buster Keaton was born in Piqua, KS). I was extremely excited to finally see my first Buster Keaton film, and I loved it! There were a few films afterwards... None of them were as good to me because they didn't have Buster in them. After the movies, we walked along the American River for a bit, then headed back home.

Old Sacramento

Every Saturday morning, I've played ultimate frisbee with the Newman Center at Sacramento State. So this past weekend, I played frisbee with them that morning. Saturday afternoon, I went thrift store shopping with my fellow JV, Nicole, and the two Mercy Volunteers in Sacramento. I bought some nice baggy clothes for work, some of the most comfortable clothes I've ever worn... Then Sunday, the Newman Center had a welcoming BBQ and mass for the volunteers in Sacramento and the new students at Sac State. I really enjoyed the BBQ and mass at the Newman Center. It was nice seeing all of my frisbee friends in a new setting. This past weekend may have been the most relaxing. My room is almost presentable now. So I should have pictures of it in my next blog post.

Sadly, every weekend has to come to an end. Work on Monday wasn't bad, it was just CRAZY busy. We served over 900 lunches (only the 2nd time in at least 7 years that that's happened). The park was crowded, but we survived. I assumed today would be about the same, but we actually only served around 830 lunches. The difference (and what made today much worse than yesterday) is that moods around the park weren't as high spirited today. Within the first hour, there were 2 physical fights and 1 verbal fight that had to be broken up and the guests were kicked out for certain periods of time. Don't worry, no employees got hurt (and no guests got extremely hurt), but I was still shaken. It was the first time I'd seen a fight at the park, and one of them was right in front of me in the lunch ticket line. The first time that a break was offered to me, I jumped on it and went into the office. I sat in the office for around 30 minutes talking to different staff members. One staff member offered to take me home, but I knew if I didn't stick it out, I wouldn't want to return to work. I toughed it out, and the day became much more cheerful. It was still an exhausting day, and I'd say I'm still a bit shaken and will be on edge for a couple days (especially tomorrow since people won't get paid til the 1st).

Today was the first day that I didn't feel 100% safe at the park. It was the first day that I realized that just because there's a "No Violence" rule and no one had broken it around me in 2 weeks, doesn't mean people don't break the rule. Today was the first day that I realized just how difficult the job really is, especially when some of the key workers are on vacation. It's a hard, yet rewarding job, and I think it'll make for the most interesting and rewarding year of my life.

Until next time,

Krystal

Friendship Park

Hello again!

Now that I've worked at Friendship Park for about a week and a half, there have been many more stories. At the park, you can't let things carry over from day to day because every day is a new day and you never know what good (or bad) things may have happened to change our friends' lives. It's nice to know that every day is a brand new beginning.

As I said in my last post, I have to be at work by 6:45am every Monday-Friday. I'm not a morning person, but I'm adjusting. Most mornings, the staff gets together and prays before beginning the day. We pray for many things, but we always pray for our guests. Then we go to our positions and open the gates (7am) to allow the guests to come in. They rush in, sign up for showers, grab some coffee, get a lunch ticket, gobble down breakfast, and then relax while waiting for lunch. The mornings are always extremely busy. After lunch, the park calms down a lot. The park closes at 2:45pm (M-F), and we have a short staff meeting then leave around 3pm. The 3 of us that work at the park as JVs walk home together and run into many of the guests. This may be the hardest part of the day. It's when we say "hello" and "Have a good night." to the guests we see on our walk home that I remember that I get to return to a large house with food/showers/etc. every afternoon when the park closes, but the guests don't have all of that. Some may have homes, but not enough money for food. Then there's also feeling guilty because I'm no longer at work, so I'm fine with saying hi on the walk, but I no longer want to just sit down and talk to them for hours. I often find the walk home to be the hardest part of the day.

The job is very rewarding though. I've never heard so many "God bless you"s as I hear at the park. Guests don't even know me and see that I'm wearing a green hat so they will say "God bless you" just because I'm trying my hardest to help them. Sure, I also hear more screaming and cursing than I've probably ever heard before, but that's how a lot of the guests know how to show affection, so I try not to let it get to me. Another part of the job that is rewarding is every time I can remember one of the guest's names. We feed around 800 people every day right now. Today we actually fed around 850 people. That's a lot of names to type into the computer and try to remember for the next day. Every time I can catch myself remembering names, I feel rewarded. I remembered one of the guest's names this week, and when I said "Good morning Greg" I saw his face light up. I don't know if other staff members don't remember his name, or if he just didn't expect me to remember it so quickly, but his smile was a grand reward for such a small gesture. I never realized how important and personal names were until these past two weeks.

Well, I should get going. My boxes came in yesterday, so I need to finish unpacking. I'm also reading Paper Moon by Linda Windsor, and I'd like to get some more of that read this afternoon. I'll post some pictures of the house once I'm unpacked. It's a beautiful house. I've been extremely blessed, and I appreciate all of your support (even just the support of reading my updates).

God bless,

Krystal

Krystal Goes West

It's been a while since I last updated. In that time, a lot has happened.

First, the gracious folks of St. John's and St. Joseph's Catholic Churches in Southeast Kansas helped me greatly surpass my goal for fundraising for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I will never be able to express how much I appreciate their generosity. I could not ask for a better place to have been raised, y'all have made me who I am, and I love it!

Then, I had to quickly pack for my year because I was leaving on August 2. I flew into Reno where I met up with my friend Lisa. On the plane ride, I met a saxophonist and a girl that flew first class back from London to LA like 1 seat away from Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)! I had almost a week with Lisa in which we climbed C hill in Carson City, went to Lake Tahoe, visited our friend Alex in Grass Valley, CA, and saw a free Gin Blossoms concert on the Santa Cruz boardwalk. It was a great end to my summer. Lisa and her family were extremely hospitable and I cannot thank them enough (as was Alex's family the day we were there).

Next was JVC Orientation in Aptos, CA. There are 85 JVs in the Southwest Region. There are 15 males and 70 females. Orientation was a great time. We got to make friends throughout the region (California and Arizona) and were forced to have deep conversations within our houses.

I'm living with 6 other girls in a beautiful Victorian house in downtown Sacramento. We moved here on Thursday, and had our first day of work today. Over the weekend, we set up a house bank account, visited our work placements, played ultimate frisbee, went to Second Saturdays (an art thing in downtown Sac), attended mass at the cathedral, and went grocery shopping. That doesn't seem like a lot, but it took up the entire weekend. We barely rested.

The first day of work today seemed like it was going to be very overwhelming. I've never really worked with the homeless before and after the first hour or so I just wanted to break down and cry. Then we had a work meeting with all of the new JVs working in the park and our bosses. It was a nice break. Then I got a tour around all of the different facilities of Loaves and Fishes before returning to the park. Upon my return, I chatted with an older man that is leaving on a bus for Florida on Wednesday to move down by his son. He was extremely kind, and I listened to him talk for a couple hours. After chatting with him, I knew I could handle the job. Then I went to lunch with Anne and Nicole (the other JVs). We got back and I worked at the service counter for the rest of the afternoon (until it closed). When it closed 15 minutes before the park closed, I went out and saw a fairly young guy sitting on a bench alone. He looked very lonely, so I decided to go talk to him. This is when I realized how difficult the job really will be. Not only is it difficult because I'm seeing the less fortunate every day, but I'm also meeting people that haven't had others be kind to them in a very long time. It must have been this young man's first time (or one of his first times) at the park because he kept asking why I wanted to talk to him. All I could think to say was that it'd looked like he could use a friend, so I wanted to be there for him as a friend. Sadly, we only had 15 minutes to talk, but when the park closed, he said he often wishes he had a friend to talk to. I assume I'll be seeing him around more often.

This year is going to be challenging, but has already been rewarding. I may even start looking forward to 6:45am (when we have to be at work) very soon.

Cheers!

Krystal

Adventures Around Kansas

Since July 1, I have been keeping myself busy. I flew back to Kansas on July 2. Celebrated the 4th of July with the family on the 3rd. Relaxed/unpacked on the 4th, 5th, and 6th. On July 7th, I drove to Pittsburg to visit cousin Rachel. We joined with Lexie on the 8th and drove over to Joplin to visit Penny. We ate lunch at Cabo de Sol (I think that's what it was called) and then Lexie had to leave for work, but Rachel and I hung out with Penny a bit longer.

On July 9th, I left Rachel's around noon because she had a birthday party to go to. I went to JD's house in Frontenac. We caught up, then went and got lunch before packing up to go to the Royals game. We left for the game around 2:20pm or so after picking up JD's sister and waking Chris up. We picked up Kevin on the route and then met up with Nick, Ashley, Lisa, Kirk, Autumn, Shauna, Frank, and Emily at the K. I had a lot of fun, and the Royals won the game 13-6! Then we headed back down south and got back to Frontenac around midnight.

I left around 7:30am on the 10th in order to make it back to Iola in time to go to the Royals game with my family. I arrived around 9, and we finally left around 10am. I finally went to the Royals Hall of Fame. I never thought about the fact that the World Series trophy would be in there. I got extremely excited upon siting it! We sat through the game. It looked like the Royals were going to pull of a comeback in the bottom of the 9th since Eric Hosmer started off with a double, but they did not. Jacob and I took cousin Averie to run the bases for Kids Day. After running the bases, we headed to Lawrence, met up with Mandy & Toby, got dinner, then headed home.

On the 11, 12, and 13th, I mostly just continued relaxing and unpacking around the house. On the 13th, I packed for the trip to Florida with the family. On the 14th, I headed to Altamont and had a Harry Potter marathon with Ashley and Kevin before we went to the midnight premiere in Parsons.

On the 15th around noon, my family picked me up and we started the LONG drive to Florida. Finally got to Belleview, FL, around noon on the 16th. On the 17th, we had a family get-together at Aunt Faune's house. All of the old babies are now in elementary school, so I now feel old around the Florida family. We went swimming with the little kids multiple times. It was a fun day. I found out that I share a birthday with little Gavin (he turns 3 on Thursday! It was our first time meeting him).

Well that's all I've been up to the past couple weeks. Next post should be about the rest of the trip to Florida. Then I'll be headed out West for the next year. If you'd like to support me as a Jesuit Volunteer, please donate in my name. You can do so by donating via the website: https://jesuitvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/smts/individual.do?participationRef=3926.0.338678029 or you can write a check to "Jesuit Volunteer Corps" with "Krystal Pennuto" on the memo line and sending it to: Jesuit Volunteer Corps; 801 St. Paul Street; Baltimore, MD 21202. Even $1 helps! Anything you can give, I thank you!

Until next time,

Krystal