start of another week

For those of you who don't know, I will be working every wednesday-saturday, so today was the start of my second 4 day shift. I really enjoyed my days off, but am excited to be back at work with the girls and am excited to get to know them better.

Last night I was able to go into san diego again, with my friend and coworker Danay. We went to a small group through The Rock Church. Its a great group of people and I am having a lot of fun getting to know them. After small group, we went to a place called, i kid you not..."beef and bun". Sounds disgusting, right? Haha. My thoughts exactly. But I have to admit my milkshake was actually pretty amazing :) But, it definately cant compare with in'n'out, my favorite!!!!

And now I am about half way through my first day back to work for the week. I am still loving it and the girls are great. Its fun to get to know them and really see their different personalities.
Well....time to go back to work!!! I'll update more later!!! Love and miss you all!!

Has it really only been a week since I left???

I meant to start this blog right when i got out to california, but this week has seriously flown by! So much has happened that I feel like I've been out here for much longer!

First, I want to say that although things are going amazingly well and I am loving it out here, I still miss all of you at home and would love to hear from you whenever possible!!!

For those of you who want to know what I have been up to the past week, here is a quick overview...

I was able to spend my last night in the midwest with two of my best friends in Chicago last saturday night and then I flew to San Diego on Sunday. Not gonna lie, I was pretty impressed and proud of myself that all of my travel arrangements went as smoothly as they did. I had no problem getting from the airport to my rental car and then to my hotel. I spent the next 24 hours exploring san diego and shopping at Target and IKEA for all the things that I couldn't pack in my two suitcases. And, of course the first place I went to eat lunch was In n Out, my favorite!

Monday night I headed out to my new home out in Julian at Julian Youth Academy (htttp://www.teenrescue.com) where I will be working. Lets just say, its going to be awhile before I can survive the drive to and from Julian without the assistance of Dramamine! We are definitely way out in the mountains here!!

I started my job on Wednesday, and lucky for me, my first day also happened to be one of the few days they take the students to a lake for the day. It was a beautiful lake in the middle of the mountains and I spent the day getting to know the girls and wakeboarding and going for a boat ride.

I spent the next few days getting to know the girls and the schedule and the many rules that they have to follow. I've learned a lot in the past few days and am pretty impressed that I was able to learn the names of all 40ish girls, but I definately have a lot more to learn!!! The good thing is that I really enjoy my job. The girls are great and constantly making me laugh and the staff that I work with is making me feel right at home at JYA.

And now, I am enjoying my first 3 days off. Yesterday I went into San Diego with my coworker, Danay, and hung out at the cutest starbucks ever while Danay interviewed for a children's program at The Rock Church in San Diego. After that, Danay and I went to the church service there. Lets just say, it was pretty much the opposite of what I am used to at Mars Hill, but it was pretty cool and I plan on going there with Danay every week while I'm living here.


I am now staying at the staff apartment in Julian where staff can stay on their days off. Its very relaxing and nice to get away from the school for awhile. Its also walking distance from the main street of the town, which is basically the epitome of small town, USA. The town is known for its apple pies, and after sampling them, I now know why :)





I am really looking forward to continuing to explore both san diego and Julian and spending more time with the girls at JYA.