On of the greatest things I cherish from IVLI is the community.
**Entire IVLI 2010 crew**
We were really one big blob of a family living together in close quarters for a month. There were great moments of "You like that too?!!!!", and of course as with any family those moment of "Agh! I can't even listen to your jabbering. Don't look at me!" moments. Of course the latter was never voiced that strongly, but everyone encountered that "Wall" day when you crash an burn from intense overload of people and learning. It happens. But in anycase...even if there was a moment of blah, everyone genuinely cared for each other. It was fabulous.
I shared some about the students and how much I loved my family group...so now I want to focus on the awesomeness of another family called the Staff. :)
We really had an amazing staff team at IVLI this year. For the most part, we all worked really well together, we were all in to try new ideas and create the best quality program we could for the students. We cared for each other and grew very close over the month.
There were a couple of staff that made a big impact on me personally, and I almost feel unfair to name then without sharing about the wonderful moments I shared with other staff. So if some of my staff friends are reading this and are not mentioned, please don't feel pushed off as nothing. You are very special to me, and I hold you close to my heart and in my prayers. This blog entry would simply be waaaaay too long to mention everyone.
At Cedar we were placed in staff housing with other staff. Some were assigned to cabins that were further from the lodge (where the students girls lived), and some were placed inside the lodge...actually 3 to be exact. Those 3 were Amanda (new staff from Wisconsin), the infamous Lynn Kincaid (veteran staff from Indiana), and myself.
Over the month we got to know each other fairly well and became good friends. I also learned that you can determine a person's myer's Briggs (personality test we often use in IV) by looking at their room. For example...Lynn and Amanda are "J"'s. They kept their area neat and picked up.**Amanda teaching students**
Amanda espeically has a great gift of cleanliness that I could only dream of possessing. I am a dominant "P". Nothing was ever put away, I had to climb over a mountain of clothes, books, and my guitar to get to my bed...and then clear off my bed to lay down. It was a bonified mess...and I felt bad for my roommates who had to witness it...but they were gracious :) Anyway...that was a rabbit trail.
Amanda is a great encourager. Everything she does is a thought out encouragement to someone else. Little notes left on beds, writings on the bathroom mirrors, gift bags for the girls as they came to camp...she is probably the most gentle sweet spirited person I've ever met. We spent many nights lying awake talking about the day and what God was teaching us and students. I remember one night specifically we couldn't sleep, so we went out on the beach and watched the stars for a good hour or so. We just sat in silence, watching shooting star after shooting star, and enjoying just being with each other and God. After a while we talked about campus, and some personal things that was both healing and encouraging for each of us. It was one of my favorite moments with Amanda, and I miss her inspiring joy.
My other roommate I share briefly about before. Lynn. A woman with a camera. She is a prankster of pranksters and just loves living life to the fullest. She was a lot of fun to be around and could lighten any mood.
I think what I appreciated the most about Lynn was that she knew how to have fun, and when to be serious when needed.**Lynn doing what it takes to get a good picture**
She was very wise in her experience as staff, and it was a great privilege to live with her for a month. She imparted many gold nuggets about staff life, and ideas to connect and care for students to Amanda and me. She hunted me down on my "wall" day to see what was going on, but yet gave me the space I needed to be alone with God. She prayed for me, and was a wonderful mentor and friend. Even now we keep in touch on facebook, and she continues to help me with withdrawl effects, or other common feelings staff seem to get from different experiences and figure out what to do with them. She is a great friend, and I can't wait to see her in person again!
Ok this entry is already getting too long. There are so many precious stories I could share about Diana, who we just clicked instantly and were best buds, of Joyce who shared a common obsession with Dr. Horrible, or Tina who is another fabulous encourager and friend. There's also Dan and Emily, Luke and Amber, Todd, Paul and Kim, Jesse and Beth, Calvin, and Peter. All of these folks were great people, and I am glad I was able to serve at IVLI with them and I look forward to working with them again. But there is one more couple that made a great impact on not just my own experience, but the experience of everyone at IVLI: Josh and Opala Bilhorn.
Josh was the director of IVLI this year, and Opala his wife. They brought their 2 very young
and very cute children with them for the 1st time. This family was a lot of fun to be around, and took IVLI very seriously, but not in a dreary ho hum kind of way.**The Bilhorn family**
It was an inspiration watching them both having such a devotion to those at IVLI (staff and students), as well as still having that much needed family devotion. They reminded us that students come first, events come 2nd...even if the events were for the students. That simple thought easily gets lost in the midst of IVLI madness.
The Bilhorns were very hospitable and always open to having people over in the evening for a good game of Settlers of Catan, Eukre, or to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long blog. They really loved their family, God, and life, and we could all see that.
For some of the single staff, we tend to "adopt" a family to be our own during trips like this, whether it be an actual family, or a group of staff we always hang out with. For me, the Bilhorn's became a kind of IVLI family for me. They cared for me in ways that made me feel loved and affirmed in both my job as staff, and me as a person. We shared fun times together, as well as deep conversations. While at IVLI I had such conversations with both Josh and Opala. Both were healing in ways I'm still learning. My 2.5 hour talk with Opala one day on her porch was especially freeing. We shared similar life experiences, and she was able to speak hard, but good truth into some hard pains.
I could write so much more about these two, but I will refrain. :)
The relationships and the amazing community we held with the staff and their families is something I deeply treasure from IVLI. They have become great friends, and I am honored to be working with them in GOd's mission through IV.
**All the staff singing a blessing to the students on the last night of IVLI**
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