A Full Classroom

With the beginning of each new session I plan to take a photo in the first week. I've finally done it, although there were a couple of our ladies missing on the last day of our first week. Nevertheless, here is a picture and a reminder to pray for those in our fall classes.



Back row: Sherry, Pennie, Sandra, Tiffany, Donna
Front row: Angel, Nancy, Amber, Donna, Keri, Kim

Some of you will recognize Kim, who was one of our graduates in the spring. She has decided to come back to take our new Jobs for Life course. Kim worked many hours this summer helping us with everything from getting the clothes closets ready, to getting information out to the community, to general cleaning. She had a part in bringing some of our new participants to us and daily is a positive testimony and influence in the lives of all of us.  Remember Kim in prayer. She will have knee replacement surgery soon.

The rooms that were empty a week ago are now full of sound and activity. Although the week was shortened because of Labor Day, we had a wonderful beginning. Our first day at First Baptist Church with the mentors was so positive in every respect. After our first Jobs for Life lesson, we had lunch and Bible study. Our ladies felt welcomed and excited about the study Jeff Raines is starting on the Book of Job.

A Welcoming Space

There is a dramatic difference in our space this year thanks to the contributions of so many people. We want to share with you in this posting a little of what was and what is. As our new classes begin on Tuesday, the 6th, the men and women who begin CWJC and CMJC will have no idea of all the investment of time, work, and funds that went into giving them a lovely place to learn and to make friends.

We began a year ago in September with Mary Stephens guiding the women in the remodeling. The multi-colored room with the spattered paint was not tackled until spring. Distracting as it was, we used it as a classroom while the main classroom was being done. It now looks like a totally different room and is our lounge and second classroom. In addition to the two large rooms, the computer lab, our office, and six small rooms were redone. With new lighting, carpeting, paint and furniture, it is an inviting environment conducive to the work we will be doing. Below are some pictures of our renewed space.



 Thank you to all of you who have had a part in making this happen.



Back in the Saddle

As of the first of August  I am back at the CWJC office on a daily basis. Marilyn has been working throughout the summer and is also here daily. It was wonderful to see the new look in our space. When I left for vacation, the painting was completed, but the rooms were empty.

Marilyn O'Brien, with the help of a few others, has been working hard at getting everything put back in place after the redecorating. Supplies have been put in place, the carpet cleaned in the main classroom. etc. Cindi Palmer and Marilyn did a lot of work getting the computer lab cleared of what isn't useful to us any longer. Jack Rhine finished putting up the blinds. A couple of our graduates worked with Carolyn Strovas to finish up the sewing of the valences. They were hung this last week. Soon the furniture will be in place and what remains to be done will be done and ready to receive both the women and the men who will make up our fall classes of CWJC and CMJC.

Since the first, I have interviewed a number of women from the community and eight of them have been accepted into our program. Larry Mills is also in the process of interviewing men for the new evening CMJC program. More interviews are scheduled for the coming week and we will be accepting applications and interviewing for the rest of the month. In addition, we are expecting to have all of the new women and men from the Prisoner Reentry Education Program at Randall County in our fall sessions.

Most of the teachers we need for this session are in place. Although we have a number of mentors, we won't know about the total number needed until we finish enrolling the participants. We will have a training time for mentors on Sunday, August 28th. 

We need your prayer support in all of the preparation that is ongoing. Now that I am back I will be updating the blog every week or ten days. Thank you for reading it and keeping us in your prayers.

Telling Our Stories



Our ultimate purpose in telling stories of transformation is to bring glory to God for an experience that would not have happened without our encounter with the Lord Jesus. Many people with a story to tell ask for some guidance in the telling. The simplest outline in three points is  I. What it was like before. II. What happened. III. What it is like now.

Leigh being greeted and encouraged after sharing her story

Shortly after graduation a couple of our young women were invited to share their stories at an annual meeting of a foundation, where I was also asked to speak. Before they told their stories, I shared this poem with which many people around the world of addiction are familiar. Both those who struggle with life dominating problems and those who work with them can relate to it.

Authobiography in Five Short Chapters

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost.... I am hopeless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place.

But, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the side walk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in... it's a habit.

My eyes  are open

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

Portia Nelson (1980)

Many of us who are not struggling with a life dominating problem have a tendency to give up on the one who is by the end of the second chapter or surely by the third. The joy of working with the women at the Christian Women's Job Corps is walking beside those who get to the place of walking down another street. It is a special experience to hear the familiar yet unique stories of each woman and realize again what a life-transforming experience it is to come to know the Lord Jesus who lifts us out of our pits and set us on a new path.

Seeds and Signs of Growth

I'm not a gardener, but I love the happy feeling that comes with observing the sprouting of seeds and the promise of growth, change and maturity. Over the past few months I have enjoyed that sense of happiness every time I have been with some of our coffeemates (mentors and mentees) together.

When I pair our coffeemates, they begin by meeting weekly during the course of the CWJC program. I don't see their initial one-on-one interaction, which is a getting acquainted, sharing something of their stories with one another. It happens on Tuesday mornings for an hour and is followed by attending the Tuesday noon lunch and Bible study together. It is an obligatory time that must become much more than that if it is to last.

Recently one set of coffeemates has been a particular reminder to me of how each developing relationship is a living example of the uniqueness in relationships. Kim and Carolyn became coffeemates when Kim entered CWJC. I don't know now what was the basis for putting them together, but I know prayer was a part of it.

Last week when I was in the hospital following surgery, Carolyn and Kim came to see me. They brought a gift of a large cookie, some ice cream and toppings. It was obviously a "doing it together" ministry on their part to me. It reminded me of when I began seeing a lovely change in their relationship that bode well for the endurance of that relatioship.

Several months ago Kim had major surgery on her shoulder. Carolyn, who is a nurse, ministered to Kim with a pot of soup, changing the dressing after Kim was home from her surgery, offering encouragement and advice and more. A short time later Carolyn injured her elbow in a bicycle accident and Kim returned Carolyn's pot with some soup she had made.

Kim and Carolyn

In times since, they have taken their dogs together to the dog park, met for lunch, and done things not only for each other, but together for others. When Kim's friend, Jennifer, a young woman with special needs, moved into an apartment and needed absolutely everything, Kim and Carolyn together presented the need to our whole group of coffeemates. Everyone pitched in and soon Jennifer's apartment was furnished.

Carolyn and Kim have a relationship that is a growing friendship. With it comes a deepening communication -- real communication that is a result of content plus relationship.

  

Celebrating Milestones

I have to admit that I am not very good at celebrating anything. It is one of the things I need to learn to do better, since it's a very important piece of our program. We all need to stop from time to time and really look at what has been accomplished and enjoy the progress. My tendency is to see what is not finished and press on. But sometimes that gets discouraging and we all need encouragement.

Today I have decided it is time to celebrate a milestone. Last September we began the project of redecorating the space we have for the job corps at Buchanan Street Chapel. There were ceiling tiles falling in, tiles missing from the floor in places, locked closets full of things, etc.

With the leadership of Mary Stephens, the women in the fall session chose carpeting, paint for two classrooms and seven smaller rooms, and fabric for the valances. We started working for a couple of hours on Fridays - cleaning, emptying, mudding walls, and painting - and by the end of the fall session we were at a place where the ceilings could be lowered and new lighting fixtures installed. 

When we started up again in January some of the ladies were employed and our schedule didn't afford the same kind of time for consistently working on the redecorating. So, we built in a couple of Saturday workdays and added a few volunteers. Jozef and Jana were here to help. Elaine's husband came a couple of times and Jack Rhine helped out. Cindi Palmer has been a big help on a consistent basis. 

It has been a big task and we are not finished, but it is time to celebrate. The last large room was painted and the carpet has been installed. We moved furniture back into the office and some of the shelves in the supply room can be put back in place. For a moment we will pause to appreciate and enjoy was has been done.

A Servant's Heart and Hands

It is rather rare to see Marilyn O'Brien, our administrative assistant, on a platform. Usually she is moving and working quietly behind the scenes - taking phone calls and making them, formatting documents and forms, handling correspondence, snacks, transportation and doing many other generally thankless tasks.
The truth is that we would not function without her and I, especially, am most grateful for the tireless effort she puts in.

Marilyn reading Scripture at Graduation

Marilyn is the only volunteer, besides me, who is at the Christian Women's Job Corps every day that we meet. She is usually the first one there and the last one to leave. She also spends time at home working on her computer to make sure everything that we use from name tags, to notebooks, to thank you notes has the most professional look. Marilyn is a living example of Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

When we are not in session, Marilyn is still working. At this time she is meeting weekly with Larry Mills and me to create a single set of application and interview forms that will be used by both the Christian Women's Job Corps and the Christian Men's Job Corps.

Although Marilyn will not have to be available in the evenings when CMJC begins, she will be serving as the administrative assistant for both CMJC and CWJC. But before the next session begins, you will find her helping with volunteer recruitment, volunteer training, and preparation of all those things that go into it.

When you thank the Lord for Christian Job Corps of Amarillo, thank Him for Marilyn O'Brien too.

Graduation and Beyond

Our graduates - Stephanie, Barbara, Elaine, Kim, Stephanie, Leigh and Glinda

Graduation, the anticipated time and event, came on the evening of April 8th. We celebrated the accomplishments of seven women and celebrated them as well - women of courage and perseverence, who made a commitment to make changes in their lives and are doing it.

Since a number of those who read our blog were not with us that evening and follow the experiences of CWJC of Amarillo from other places in the country and the world, we have decided to add a number of pictures and share some of the activities of graduation day. For those who were there, we hope this provokes some good memories.

Activities for the day began with a special lunch at Park Place Towers for the graduates and the graduation speaker, Debbie Unruh. It gave them time for a level of interaction that doesn't happen at the reception following the ceremony, when everyone is engaged with family and friends. Since some of our graduates had known our speaker for a number of years, it was an especially relaxed and enjoyable time.

Immediately after lunch, we went through the graduation practice and then had the afternoon free to relax and get ready for the evening.

The chapel was full with 150 or more people to celebrate with our graduates. There were parents and children, siblings and other relatives, mentors, teachers, friends, volunteers, and people who supported the graduates and the program over this session with their prayers and gifts.

Although we started in the fall with eight women, only two of them, Barbara and Stephaine, completed the 26-week program. We experimented this year with a longer program because change takes time and we wanted to be part of their day to day support system over a longer period. Barbara's and Stephanie's last 13 weeks weren't always easy because we had to adjust some classes around their work schedules. But they persevered and had the satisfaction of completing something they had begun last September.

Our other five graduates came into the program in Jaunary of 2011. In order to give them the classes the other two had had, we abbreviated several classes from the fall term and then added some separate class times for them on Fridays. It all worked and we are grateful that because of several other plans developing -- an alumnae group and periodic continuing education -- we will be able to be a part of their ongoing support system.

Our guest speaker, Debbie Unruh, was invited to speak at graduation late last spring, when she was still a part of the Amarillo community. We first knew her as Captain Unruh, the creator and implementor of the one-of-a-kind Prisoner Reentry Education Program (PREP) at Randall County Jail. It is a program for a select group of men and women serving state prison sentences, who are chosen for this study and work release program because of their commitment to change.

People committed to change is what we want in CWJC. After Joe Ann and I began teaching the men in the PREP, Captain Unruh permitted two of the women to enroll in CWJC in January of 2010. They graduated a year ago and others from PREP entered CWJC in September of 2010 and again in January of 2011.

Debbie left the Randall County Sheriff's Office last summer and moved to Austin after being appointed by Governor Perry to serve as the Ombudsman of the Texas Youth Commission. Her career has taken her to a different place and a different job, but her commitment to helping women and men get a fresh start is as intense as ever. She was an appropriate and good choice for our graduation, since the majority of our graduates this year are a part of PREP. And, of course, her challenge to them was so fitting and meaningful.



Each of the graduates took a little time to speak and in their sharing we heard words of gratitude and spiritual growth, the commitment to continue what was begun in their lives at CWJC, and a desire to give back to the program and to help those who come behind the. Carolyn Terrell sang two perfect songs for the occasion, The Journey and Press On.

We are now beyond graduation and together we journey on. Two of our seven graduates are being baptized on Easter Sunday. Five of the graduates are still attending the Tuesday noon Bible study. (The other two are working at that time.) Relationships with mentors are strong. Some are meeting at the Family Life Center for exercise together once a week. Those who are not working yet are helping with the painting and other redecorating tasks at Buchanan Street every Thursday.

All "A"s



Our session is almost over. Seven ladies will graduate on Friday, April 8th. Two of them will have completed 26 weeks with us and the other five half that amount of time. Our staff and mentors and everyone who has touched their lives in these months has been handing out at least three important "A"s. These three - affection, affirmation, and assistance - are important to anyone going through a transition. Especially at times when we are choosing to make deliberate, systematic changes, we all know what it means to have important people in our lives say, "I love you. I believe in you. I'll help you."

 



Busy redecorating

As we finish our months of Monday through Friday interaction, we will not stop loving, believing in and assisting our graduates. However, to experience this ongoing care, there is another "A" that we can't give. It has to come from them. Our support will be there, but they must "Access" it.

As you think of those who are about to graduate, pray that they will stay connected. Whether or not we can fulfill our mission "to empower, to establish, and to sustain women's growth in all areas of their lives," depends on a long-term commitment to one another. They have only begun what will be a lifelong journey and we want to walk it with them.

As alumnae, they will have an opportunity to meet monthly in a planned event, be a part of future sessions as volunteers, take continuing education classes of interest to them, and be with mentors and others in spontaneous times. 



Elaine and Becky at Tuesday noon Bible study


We are delighted and encouraged that those who are graduating and not working full-time yet are planning to continue to come to Tuesday noon Bible study and also to finish the redecorating that was begun some months ago.

                                        

In Celebration

One of the important elements of CWJC is celebrating - big things, little things, group achievements, individual achievements, birthdays, and, of course, the completion of the program. Although our graduation ceremony is soon --Friday, April the 8th -- I wanted to write about someone's personal achievement that we celebrated recently.

On Friday night, March 11th, Lisa Lowery, who teaches our computer classes, was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of Junior Colleges. Marilyn O'Brien and I, along with a few other friends, were able to celebrate that event by being in attendance at the program at Amarillo College that evening. The cwjc participants celebrated Lisa's achievement with hugs and words of affirmation on the Monday after.

I am particularly proud of Lisa's achievement for more than one reason. First, I know something of what it has required of her to reach this place. She entered the paralegal studies program at the age of 41 with the mental resources to do the work but lacking prior formal education -- 7th grade and a GED. Although the invitation to join Phi Theta Kappa came as a surprise to Lisa, she truly earned it. She set her goals, knew her priorities, and kept her focus and, as a result, has as a 4.0 GPA.

Lisa has the emotional resources to persist in spite of obstacles (There have been many.)  She also has the spiritual resources that are evident in her walk and talk; she continues to add to those resources in her personal spiritual life and her commitment to and involvement in the family at First Baptist Church.

Second, I am also immensely pleased because she is a role model to the ladies in our CWJC program. She knows many of the pains and difficulties of their lives because they have been hers too. Like them, she is starting over. Of course, they talk together, but she is also communicating so much by living her life before them.

One of the most important illustrations they see is that not only do you not have to accomplish things alone but also that you cannot accomplish things without the support of others. Lisa is demonstrating to them how essential a support system is, but that it only works when it is used. Because she has gratefully welcomed and utilized her support system, all of us who are a part of it feel that we have a part in her achievement.

So much that we teach at CWJC gives our participants new awareness of themselves and their potential, new knowledge they can apply, and some beginning experience with mentors and others that lets them know first hand that support is available to them. Sometimes it is just hard for them to believe that "This is really for me too."

What music to my ears to hear one of them say recently, "If Lisa can do it, so can I."

. 

The Blessing Bucket

Yesterday I received from the hands of Clarecia Jackson, the WMU director at First Baptist Church, the Blessing Bucket pictured above. Although the Blessing Buckets were meant to be given to CWJC and CMJC on the February day of prayer designated by the Texas WMU, that day in Amarillo turned out to be one of our blizzard days. Yesterday was perfect timing.

Messages of encouragement, of prayer support, and Scripture were written on the brightly colored paper in the shape of large drops of water. As our participants received and read the notes written to them by name, they were deeply touched.

Thank you to all of the ladies of the WOM circles who wrote them and prayed for us.

Between "Before and After"

Change is a long process, in fact, a lifelong process. Our program is about assisting women to make changes they desire to make in their lives and introducing them to the biggest change-maker there is - God, creator and redeemer, known to us through Jesus Christ.

In 1967 I read a poem in HIS, a magazine of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, that has remained my all time  favorite. It was written by Lona Fowler. As we passed the halfway point in this 13 week session, we took some time to reflect on it. I want to share it with you.

                                       Middle Time

                             Between the exhileration of Beginning

                             and the satisfaction of Concluding
                             is the Middle Time

                                      of enduring, changing, trying,

                                      despairing, continuing, becoming.

                             Jesus Christ was the man of God's Middle Time
                             between Creation and...Accomplishment.
                             Through Him God said of Creation,
                             "Without mistake."
                             And of Accomplishment,
                             "Without doubt."

                            And we in our Middle Times
                                    of wondering, waiting, hurrying,
                                    hesitating, regretting, revising;
                            We who have begun many things--
                             and seen but few completed;
                            We who are becoming more -- and less;
                             through the evidence of God's Middle Time

                             have a stabilizing hint
                                     that we are not mistakes,
                                     that we are irreplaceable,
                                     that our Being is of interest
                                     and our Doing is of purpose,
                                     that our Being and our Doing
                                     are surrounded by AMEN.
                             Jesus Christ is the Completer
                                     of unfinished people
                                     with unfinished work
                                      in unfinished times.

                             May He keep us from sinking, ceasing,
                             wasting, solidifying --
                             that we may be for Him
                             experimenters, enablers, encouragers,
                             and associates in Accomplishment.



God's Timing and Orchestration

I am convinced that I would not be a part of the Christian Women's Job Corps in Amarillo if God had not prepared me for this work during our years in Slovakia. There are materials we are using here that we first had translated into the Slovak language and taught there through an interpreter. It was there that we worked with a number of homeless, jobless people struggling to develop a healthy recovery from their addictions. It was before we left there in early 2009 that we asked the Lord to show us what He had next for us that would allow us to be good stewards of all He taught us in Slovakia.

Without taking the time to explain God's orchestration of circumstances, it seems that Slovakia was our experiential training ground for CWJC. A little over three months from the time we arrived in Amarillo, I was on my way to the first level of training for CWJC.

Nineteen months later our closest colleagues in Slovakia, who worked side by side with us and learned along with us in the ministry there, have come to Texas to complete the first level of National Certification Training in order to introduce the Christian Women's and Christian Men's Job Corps to Slovakia. It seems natural. It seems fitting. It seems timely.

I don't know that I can explain the significance of this to Joe Ann and to me, but I'll try. During the years we were in Slovakia we witnessed the introduction of a number of American-born ideas and programs before their time. They were foreign concepts that were ill-fitted to the people and the culture. They were planted but did not flourish.

The excitement we feel today is about God's timing and orchestration of circumstances and preparation of people in a way that will allow Jozef and Jana to take in a program that won't have much of a foreign feel to it. The Slovak soil has been prepared by their continuation and enhancement of a ministry that is truly theirs.
The addition of CWJC and CMJC to the ministry there will be more like welcoming a new family member than greeting a stranger.

As we sit around the table and imagine CWJC/CMJC's Youniqueness in Slovakia, we share a dream, a hope, and a prayer and anticipate a continuing partnership in ministry.

Welcoming Jana



I picked up Jana Jurcova at the airport on Friday as she arrived from Slovakia. Joe Ann welcomed her by phone before we left the airport. As we came into Park Place Towers, where we live, Helen Roller was one of the first people she met. This September it will be twelve years since Helen began CWJC in Amarillo.

For the next two weeks Jana will be experiencing CWJC in Amarillo before she and Jozef Brenks, who arrives on the 18th, fly to Dallas for the National Certification Training. We want them to be immersed briefly in a working program before training in order to be able to put a picture in their new knowledge frame. 

After working with Jana for the better part of the 12 years we were in Slovakia, we know not only Jana but also the timely match between CWJC/CMJCand the ministry there. In fact, there are many similarities between the participants in our program here and those we worked with in Slovakia. There are also materials we currently teach in interpersonal skills and life recovery that we used in Slovakia. Consequently, they are already adapted and translated.

Jana is a home missionary of the Baptist Union in Slovakia who serves as a vital part of the ministry of a nonprofit Joe Ann and I were privileged to help establish in 2005. In Slovak it is called Zivot bez Zavislosti, which in English means Life without Addiction. Jana manages the office, works primarily with women and children, translates materials, and assists the director in every way she can.

The ministry, located in Poprad but reaching out to the whole country, operates with a Slovak staff and volunteers, has a Slovak Board of Directors, and is supported financially by Slovaks. Since we left Slovakia at the end of March 2009, the ministry has grown and developed under the leadership of Jozef Brenkus. (More about Jozef after he gets here.)

It gives us such joy to continue to work with Jana, Jozef, and others, share in the ministry there, and now see the potential birth and development of CWJC/CMJC in Slovakia.

What do you think a Slovak gal takes a picture of on her first day in Texas? Horses on the parking lot of the local Dairy Queen while their riders are inside.

February 23 Designated Day of Prayer

The Texas WMU has designated February 23rd as a day to pray especially for the 67 Christian Women's Job Corps and Christian Men's Job Corps across the state. You can check the link to Texas WMU to learn more about other programs around the state.

 

It is always helpful to me to know how I can pray specifically for individuals. So, I have decided to give you some specifics about our program and those involved in it. Here are some of the people you can pray for.( I will give you their titles so that you can pray for those people who occupy the same positions in other sites.)

• Marilyn O'Brien, Administrative Assistant. Marilyn is the person who, besides me, is at CWJC every day - Monday through Friday - answering the phone, handling the mail, coordinating all the volunteers, attending to many needs of our participants, and much more. I could not do what I do without her. She is well organized, efficient, and displays the fruits of the Spirit.
• Our teachers - Chris and Dennis Johnson, Lisa Lowery, Marilyn O'Brien, Cindy Palmer, Larry Payne, Joe Ann Shelton, Carolyn Strovas, and those working on our redecorating project - Mary Stephens, with Clydene Collinsworth, Cheryl Evans and Carolyn Strovas teaching sewing. I am also teaching.
• Our mentors (coffemates), who spend time every week one-on-one with the women in the program. They are listeners, prayers, confidants, encouragers, and many times advisors, always modeling a maturing faith. Our active mentors at this time are Neva Blair, Cheryl Evans, Betty Ferguson, Becky Herich, Ann Huebner, Linda Loper, and Carolyn Strovas. We have a few other wonderful mentors and substitutes who are not active now because some of our participants dropped out of the program over these months.
• Our participants - Barbara, Brandi, Glinda, Elaine, Kim, Leigh, and Stephanie. We have appreciated Pray for also for the germination of the seed sown in the lives of those five women who started and left us for various reasons during the course of the program.
• Phillis Rhine, our faithful food coordinator, has done a wonderful job enlisting Sunday school classes and WMU circles that have provided snacks and meals for our participants. She represents the giving and involvement of dozens upon dozens of women and men.
• Advisory Council - a wonderful group of people whom I count on for their wisdom and input into the issues that are presented to them at our meetings. We will be having a meeting on February 25th. Our Advisory Council members are Wandalee Fontaine, Clayton and Mary Hoffman, Larry Mills, Helen Roller, Joe Ann Shelton, Jimmye Winter, and Clarecia Jackson, the current director of First Baptist Church WMU.
• For me, as I deal with the day to day functioning of the program and as I lead us to consider how we might reach out to those in the community more effectively and minister to the women who come to us. 

Why This Blog

Last month I had my first experience attending the annual retreat for Texas CWJC/CMJC site directors and coordinators. I was away for less than 48 hours, but the impact of the event will be felt for months. Before I left for the retreat, I was anticipating beginning this blog as a way to share with others the week to week aspects of our Christian Women's Job Corps ministry in Amarillo. Nothing drove home the uniqueness of each CWJC and CMJC program more than attending the retreat. Networking with others about program length, curricula, mentoring, physical facilities, support, and even participant differences reinforced it.

More than those measurable differences I had a beginning acquaintance with women, each of whom was unique, who committed herself to the same task of ministering to and with other women - each of them bringing her own creativity of mind and heart and her own discipline and experience to the task. And when they joined others in each place to form a team, a YOUnique site flourished.

At the same time there is that marvelous sense of family and family resemblance that comes from a common foundation, core program requirements, and the shared commitment of those involved in these ministries. The retreat was kind of a family reunion in which stories are told and experiences are shared, where people laugh together, sing together, pray together, and share concerns and dreams. Without making the time together a"training" event, it was a learning event.

If you visited any CWJC/CMJC site in Texas or in other states across the US, you would know that we are all part of the same family, yet we are YOUnique. So, we invite those who read this blog to learn about us and become a part of us in ways you want to do so. We invite you to comment and to share your experience and ideas.

I chose our template of books and more books for this blog because I am and want to be a lifelong learner. I saw a model of that in my father, who finished high school the year I completed by Ph.D. Although I am writing this blog, what I am looking for, in part, is a growth experience that will come to me from what you and others contribute.

Each week we plan to add to our postings and, with some pictures, try to give you a visual image of what is taking place too. On Friday, February 11th, we will meet an airplane that brings Jana Jurcova to us from Slovakia. She was our friend and colleague during the 12 years that Joe Ann Shelton and I spent there. Because we know the ministry of which she is a part, we believe it can be enhanced by the addition of a Christian Women's Job Corps and a Christian Men's Job Corps. Jana will be with us for a month. During that time she and Jozef Brenkus, who arrives on February 18th, will complete the National Certification Training in Dallas, to help prepare them to carry CWJC/CMJC to Slovakia.