Sing Praise to Him

(http://nodifferentthanyou.blogspot.com/2013/08/stigma-defintiion.html)  What are some employment needs for an individual with a psychiatric disability? Many individuals live successful lives with psychiatric or physical disabilities.  In fact, thanks to Title 1 of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, individuals are protected from being discriminated against while applying for jobs during hiring, firing, compensation as well as job training (Employment, Title I, 2015).  In essence under the law there is no reason as to why individuals with disabilities can not be a successful employee.  There are many ways in which an employer can help to accommodate an individual with a psychiatric disability.  Many of these accommodations include a flexible schedule, modifying training material or equipment, or an extra supportive person to help as an accountability partner (Enforcement Guidance, 2002). A simple, yet crucial tool is to continue communication...

             Have you ever been watching the news and a horrific story came on and you change it, thinking I don’t need to be hearing about that? I’ll admit I have and I would be arrogant to think that just because I change the station that the horrors stop.  As I lay down to rest at night no longer do I go over the plans of tomorrow, but I find myself thinking about the young children just getting up, beginning to plaster on their make up, get their quotas and hit the track. Forget curfews these children have a job to get done, money to make and for whom? Their boyfriend, their pimp and if they do not make their quota a beaten awaits.            A child does not begin to grow up thinking, “I want to be a prostitute” in fact a child prostitute legally can’t consent to sex.  Under federal law age of consent is 18, which means any child who has sex even wil...

                                      The topics to choose from where all of equal interest to me, each of great importance.  Of the list however I chose to research in more depth about fistulas, a medical condition in which people of the Western world have most likely never heard of.  A fistula is an abnormal development between two organs or parts of the body.  Examples of a fistula could be between the two blood vessels or in the case I am to focus on the development of a fistula between the bowel and vagina known as an obstetric fistula form due to complications of surgery, injury, infection or diseases (Fistulas: MedlinePlus, 2015). For many women in poverty stricken areas the horrors do not stop at being brutally raped and sodomized but continues when the...

  HOME SWEET HOME   The family pictured here: Curly, his wife and two young boys.  They were so overjoyed.  I had the opportunity of leading prayer after this group photo, thanking them for letting us work on their house, giving us an amazing experience and praying for protection and blessings as they continue on.  When we finished praying I was surprised when Curly spoke up, "Wait-wait-" and continued a prayer thanking us for our hard work.  Despite the cold, the cramps, the up and downs of the trip seeing the joy written across their faces and seeing how truly grateful they were made every second of this trip count. #Nola2015

  Meet miss Debrah- an outgoing women from who truly showed us what southern hospitality was really like.  Through out the day you could hear her shouting at us, encouraging us.  We laughed with her and cherished the time we spent working side by side her.  Not only once, but twice did she cook for our entire crew.  She was a firecracker of a women to say the least.  She spoke her mind freely and was a ball of entertainment for us. Story after story we heard about the neighborhood we were working in, what it was like to live in the 9th ward before and now after Hurricane Katrina.  It seemed most people who left after the Hurricane soon found their way back in the same neighborhood.  I can understand how it could be difficult to travel anywhere else, knowing they will never understand what they went through.  Despite neighborly differences they all share one common ground, the hurricane. No one can take away that experience, that tragedy ...

 Team Macintosh!  Team Captain: Rumble! Day 1: Scrapping Day 2: Scrapping/Priming/Washing/Cocking Day 3: Paint Coat #1 Day 4: Paint Coat #2     The weather was suppose to be nice out, but one day it was around 35 all day which in the shave with a metal/plastic gun like above your hands freeze fast! Many hot chocolate breaks were taken but between everyone we surely got the job done! What an experience. I can't imagine after hurricane Katrina people doing this kind of work all by themselves. I'm sure many people did, but wow- I truly underestimated how much effort goes into "painting 1 house." A humbling experience.

Today is a day of weird emotions, a day where I flash back to the night I witnessed my families house go up in flames. The day we lost all material possessions and remained glued to one another through love and faith. "You don't really know what you have until it's gone" has always rang especially true to me. As many of you know this vacation I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans in a community that was directly impacted by hurricane Katrina. Never once before the tr ip did I expect to feel a connection- until speaking to two well known musicians of the area and it hit me, they too knew what it felt like to watch all the pictures and memories of a life long placed be washed away. I'm always grateful for what I have, and often I find myself frustrated in a society where people are continuously wanting more and more. To find an entire community that truly understood what it was like to live off of love, faith, & understand such a deep level of thanks wa...

Huge thanks to Project homecoming for allowing us to make their place our temporary home during our stay in New Orleans. It's amazing how anyone could welcome us with open arms. After a 30 hour drive we were surely ready to get out and about and into the city!  The picture below is an area that was "knew" before Hurricane Katrina hit.  Past this scene of destroyed buildings is an area vastly written with new story and homes. Placed on the foundation of what once was a house are levels of blue that represent how high the water levels reaches.  It's hard to imagine people hacking their way out of their own attics in order to breath, fighting for air. Believe it or not this house was in a neighborhood that was newly renovated,  Despite advices over the last ten years, parts of many areas still remain untouched after Katrina.   Below are images from a recent development started to help local wildlife grow. People are still in...

  30 hours on a bus, saying goodbye to the snowy hills of Maine and hello to the warmth of Nola.  Toss/turn, move all around out.  I was antsy to say the least.  If it weren't for dramamine, and my Bethel live playlist I'm not quite sure I would have made it out of that bus in one piece.  I wasn't sure what to expect out of the trip, but I did know I was excited. Excited to get to know everyone I was traveling with as well as meet others.  I'm thankful for blankets and pillows and patience. Oh lord, do I thank you for PATIENCE. 

         There is no doubt about it the Lord has given me a heart for traveling, but most importantly the gift (if I do so say myself) of finding the up most joy in helping other people.  I'm going to let you in on a secret: I HATED high school. Plain out hated it, from the social aspect to homework.  The greatest moments of those four years was that of my out reach experience.  Whether it was in my own community or traveling miles away to Costa Rica I found the more time spent helping the less time I spent over thinking my own life.         Many of my closest friends (esp. those from church) began to reach the "leaving the nest" time.  I was trying to sprint through my senior year as they were moving out of state, some- even out of country.  My heart longed for mission work, but the school system was screaming "COLLEGE."  Every day of school was a constant reminder and evaluation ...

         I am graciously overwhelmed by all of the support I have received concerning the February trip to New Orleans.  At first I was hesitant to sign up because I was unsure if I would be able to fundraise enough in such a short amount of time.  Though I remained hopeful and knew it was possible I was shocked to find that when I came home this weekend in just a few letters from supporting friends and family my trip is already half way paid for!        From Costa Rica to New Orleans, these opportunities would not be possible without the help of all of my friends and family who support me wether it be financially or through prayer and kind words.  The victims of hurricane Katrina are still re-building their lives, though this hurricane swept through in 2005 people all over the world are still coming together in the rebuilding of communities.  Thank you for giving me this opportunity.