I've decided a great conclusion to my summer in Newport is to summarize the experience into three categories: Newport Dictionary, Hoo-Rays and Yea God's. Enjoy!
Newport Dictionary:
*The Newport Dictionary is a compilation of words, phrases, etc. I picked up throughout the summer.
~ Y'ins: a slang term for 'you ones', which is a synonym of ya'll and you guys; as in "What y'ins doing this weekend?" Apparently it's a common term in Pennsylvania too.
~Si'goggled: a combination of side and goggled; meaning crooked or lop-sided; as in "That picture frame is all si'goggled."
~Bless your heart: a phrase used as a buffer after you insult someone; as in "That meal tasted terrible, bless her heart."
~ Sweet Tea: Classic southern drink. We made it every Sunday for dinner. So good!
~ Bleeding: When your neighbor during a card game shows you their cards.
~ As Useless as a Tit on a Boar Hog: Hal Valentine's description of how helpful I was during the ministry days. LOL
~Fixin': 1) to get ready to; as in "I'm so hungry I'm fixin' to faint!" (a direct quote from a Kid's Club kid trying to bribe us to give her snack early, lol) or 2) an assortment; as in "We have salad and all the fixin's"
~Down the road: anywhere from 1 block to 10+ miles
~Tote: a large bin used to store things, like a box
~Bougie: abbreviated from bourgeois; meaning rich people or things; as in "The mayor owns a pretty bougie car." (this isn't actually a Newport term necessarily; Erik said it a lot)
~Mamaw and Papaw: grandma and grandpa, respectively
~D'jeet?: Did you eat? Because if you haven't, any southerner would gladly give you something to fill your belly with.
Hoo-Rays:
*During Club Sunday through Tuesday we had a time for the kid's to give mad props to people who have done cool things throughout the day. We decided to call them Hoo-Ray's after a... ahem... bar and grill in Newport (as if that wasn't enough, to introduce Hoo-Rays on these nights, Daniel impersonated Popcorn Sutton- a recently deceased moonshiner from the area. lol). Anyways, here are my Hoo-Rays from the summer:
~Erik, Brooke and Daniel: These guys were my support system all summer and they were great. There were times when we wanted to choke each other, but for the most part it was a really smooth summer. They did their jobs with excellence and so many participants told me how great they were. I will miss seeing them every day!
~Hal and Debbie Valentine: They offered their home, food, and encouragement to keep us going all summer. I claim them as my surrogate grandparents because they really took care of us.
~Marcie: Funny that I don't even know Marcie's last name. Marcie worked with Hal at Camp Eagle Point and had an amazing testimony- a few months ago her husband left her for another woman, taking just about everything with him. Her house got repossessed in all of that, so she took Hal up on an offer to live at Camp Eagle Point as an intake worker and has been living in a camper since. She really taught me how to be content in any circumstance, trust God through everything, and choose Joy.
~Isaac and Haylee: My two most favorite Kid's Club kids. Brooke and I never figured out how they were related- cousins we think- but they were so spunky and energetic. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them every day.
~Maria, Laura, Hope, Deja, Lindsey: These 5 girls were the ones who latched on to Brooke and I the most at KC. They taught us how to braid with a single strand of yarn, they dyed our hair with Crayola markers (I highly recommend it if you want temporary relief from your boring hair color), they were incredibly helpful in with passing out snacks. They were a lot of fun and I wish I could have spent more one-on-one time with each of them to learn more of their stories.
~ The Dirt Way Kids: This was a group of kids at Kid's Club who were pretty rough around the edges and gave us a difficult time some days, but they were great for two reasons- 1) they owned pigs and 2) they showed me what one on one attention can do for a kid who gets none.
~ Jonny and Mackenzie: also two KC kids. Jonny was the biggest thorn in my side at KC, as in he was the one who sprayed the fire extinguisher at KC. He taught me patience with troublemakers. Mackenzie, Jonny's sister, taught me to invest in instead of get annoyed with the very clingy kids. lol.
~ Jon: Jon was the youth from middle of the summer who came up to me and thanked me for the conversations I had with him. He showed me that in the midst of a difficult situation or when I don't feel like doing anything, I still have a purpose and I still have the responsibility to share Jesus.
~ Week 3: Week 3 was the worst week of the summer. The youth were obstinate and so were the adult leaders, but I learned that even those kinds of people need love and patience just like everyone else.
~Steve Brown and Hurricane Ridge: These guys were an awesome Bluegrass band that played for us every Tuesday night. They were so great- check them out!
Yea God's:
*Yea God's was the time in Club where we shared how we saw the face of God each day. I'm kind of going to modify it and tell you how I saw him work in my life and the lessons he taught me this summer (some painful, but all good). These are in no particular order:
~ Yea God for the beauty of the Smoky Mountains and the breath-taking landscape of Tennessee
~Yea God for the kids at Kid's Club who taught me how to love "the least of these"
~Yea God for reminding me that EVERYONE needs his love and EVERYONE needs to be loved by me- not just those who I think deserve it
~Yea God for giving me the charisma and boldness to briefly share his word with 65+ youth participants and their adult leaders 5 nights a week. Without that opportunity this summer I might not have realized that I really do enjoy teaching others and I want to tell them about the things for which I have a passion (Jesus, health, etc)
~Yea God for putting people in my life to "vision punch" (i.e. correct) me and show me that weeks 7, 8, and 9 deserve the same amount of energy and attention as weeks 1, 2, and 3. To translate that into non-YouthWorks life: I need to work with the same veracity on days when I'm so so tired, angry, annoyed, etc., as those days when I am at 100%.
~ Yea God for placing difficult people in my life to show me that I really did/do think I was/am better than others and that my way was/is best. I've always thought that I was a patient, humble person and I realized this summer that I most certainly was not. I was constantly thinking about a better way to do something and constantly grumbling when something wasn't to my liking. I'm really sorry to say all that because I didn't think I was that type of person. In fact, it hurts my pride to see, in retrospect, that I was like that. This is an area that I am glad came to light now, but one that I desperately need to work on.
~Yea God for teaching me to be content in any circumstance and to choose Joy. This summer, it became very real to me that I can't blame anything or anyone for what happens to me. Like I said above, I spent way too many days this summer complaining about how things didn't go my way. Life is NOT fair and most of the time it doesn't go how I planned it. What's the saying? Life is 10% circumstance and 90% attitude. My attitude needed/needs a big 180.
~Yea God for teaching me to live in the moment and not anticipate the future so much. Yes, it is important to make choices for the future, but that's not what I mean here. I mean that too often I can't wait to get out of my current situation and into the greener grasses of what is coming next. I need to focus on what is happening now and how God can use me now, where I'm at in that moment.
~Yea God for a great support system in my family and with Brian, who were willing to listen to me complain. lol.
I'm sure there will be other lessons and such that God will reveal to me later as I look back on this summer. It was most definitely a challenging summer and sometimes I hated it. But God is made perfect in our weaknesses and we are commanded to consider it pure Joy when we have such experiences. Besides, I feel like I can conquer the world now that I've made it through a YouthWorks summer in Newport, TN. :) As difficult as this summer was, I needed it. Please keep praying for me as I jump back into the real world and continue to wrestle with all that happened this summer.Thanks!
I suppose that's it. I've been working on this post for three days. lol. It's time to put it up now.
~Sarah Jane Scott
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