our dining/kitchen room

my housemate amy with the guitar she is so skilled at playing...immaculately.

Our living room.

some pictures...moore to come

Southwest is the Best.

My neighborhood is great. I was talking with one of my housemates today and discussing how it is really starting to feel like home. Today two of my housemates and I travelled up to the University of Pennsylvania campus for our day off. It is only 15 blocks from our house, but it feels literally worlds away. So here I am spending my sabbath talking on the phone and getting on the internet. It feels good to relax.

Next week I start community service. I think i will spend mondays with some nuns teaching english to undocumented citizens. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I will work for Catholic Social Serivices with their food bank and senior citizen program. Then on Thursdays I will volunteer at Southwest Community Development Center doing whatever they need. I also might work with adult literacy one night a week. So my schedule is full and things are really starting to get going. As the weeks go by I am sure that I will be busier than I can imagine. I have already walked more than I ever have in my life. Hopefully it will work as a built in workout system.

I miss you all. I hope I have some funny stories to share soon.

Oh there is one funny story. I met a girl named angel as Cornerstone Christian Academy. I had just met her and I asked her to tell me about herself. She immediatley said, "well when I was five my dad took me to Dave and Busters...." and went on and on about the trip to Dave and Busters and never gave me any personal information about herself. Funny.

love love love
rebekah

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. Life has in general been pretty crazy. I have officially been here two weeks and I am almost positive that I love living in Philadelphia. The neighborhood is of course very different that what I am used to. If you want more of an idea just google or wikipedia the area of South West Philadelphia and there should be some information there.

This past week and this week will be spent in training and in getting to know our neighbors. I am also trying to pin down where I will serve the community in the mornings.

We have some really cool neighbors on our street. On Saturday we got invited to a Jamaican Bar-b-que complete with jerk chicken, curried goat, and ox-tail. It was an adventure for sure. I will try to post more stories later as they come up. Today is actually the first time I have checked my e-mail since I have been here so my Internet access is sporadic.

Hope everyone is having a great week in Texas!

Rebekah

Here I Am!

Just a quick note to let everyone know I am in my house in Philly. I have great roommates and will spend the week training and learning more about the city. As soon as I can I will post pictures of the house.

P.S. My day off is Friday if anyone wants to call!

Peace
Rebekah

this. is. it

As I write I am almost completely packed. With the help of my dad (a very skilled packer) and space bags, (exactly what they sound like, bags from space) I am on my way to Philly with the contents of three suitcases to last me one year. Packing has been a challenge. Its hard to look at everything I own and try to decide what I will to need to exist in a climate that is very different than Texas.
Today my mom and dad and I will drive to Dallas where we will spend the night tonight. Early tomorrow morning I will board a flight to Philadelphia, and from that point on who knows. Pray that I will have a smooth transition and that my housemates and I will get along well. On Sunday I will be heading to Atlanta for training so who knows when I will see a computer again. Have faith if you don't hear from me for a while...I will surface in the real world eventually!

peace,
rebekah

Summah

Here is a short journey through my summer. First of all I lost my camera this summer. In the midst of moving out of my house in College Station and being slightly sick it was missing for over a month. So part of my summer is missing...sad. It was in the back seat of my car the entire time, in a bag. That morning I prayed that I would find my camera that morning...and I did. Seriously, the Lord is Good.

Bruce and I had a garage sale.

My friend had a Philly themed party for me when I found out I was moving there! Awesome.

Roommate #1 wedding (Laura and Justin) July 12.

Roommate #2 wedding (Ashley and Ben) July 19th. Both weddings were amazing fun.

I found my camera!

Grace Brazile and I have a moment at camp (Hidden Falls Ranch)

Campers..at camp.
Weekends with the Braziles...the normal stuff like midnight vampire book releases with meat trays and stickers.

Palo Duro Canyon..what I got to wake up to every day for four weeks.

good summer.

Here it goes...in West Philadelphia?

Greetings Friends,

Since last writing I have gotten even closer to my goal of working with Mission Year. Through your generous support I have raised well over the $12,000 required for my year of service. I can not thank you enough for your generosity. It means so much to me that you would support me in this way.
I have also figured out that I will be spending the next two years in Philadelphia, PA! I am very excited to head well East and well North of my comfortable Texas home to an entirely new climate and atmosphere. I will be living in a house with five other girls who are from all over the US doing the same thing that I am this year. Get excited!
My summer has been good and God totally worked out my fundraising because I really did not have a whole lot of time to concentrate on it. I spent my summer in between College Station and Amarillo spending time with family and attending the weddings of dear college friends. I also had the opportunity to make some money working as a camp counselor at the camp I grew up going to, Hidden Falls Ranch. It was a trying summer in many ways, but also a great one spent with the people I love. I am very excited about this next phase in my life. I hope you will pray for me as I finish up packing and working on details here in Amarillo. I will try to update my blog here often...

coming soon a pictorial journey through my summer

rebekah