"The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely of the author. They are not necessarily representative of the views of Mission Year or partners associated with Mission Year."

HOUSTON ARTS TEAM

August 31,2012- July 2013 I will be serving with a program called Mission year. Mission year is an urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. I will be living and working with a team of people in Houston, TX to serve and create community through the avenue of the arts. The majority of my time I will be serving at St. John's Church in downtown Houston. The program is committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. The day by day schedule includes intentional community, professional service, discipleship, neighborhood outreach, church partnership, and education/training. (for more info check out the links on the sidebar)

Pray: for a heart to love God and love people.
Home: 2611 Tierwester Street Houston,TX 77004
Contact: cynthia.javaras@gmail.com

Monday, August 20, 2012

Reflections of the road trip (week 2)

So after spending the weekend in Shippensburg,PA I continued my trip to Baltimore, MD to see one of my best friends/fellow AIA staff member, we enjoyed celebrating the news of her engagement this past weekend! (Congrats Alli and Cole!).  I also had the opportunity to reconnect with 2 of my favorite rowers from UVA and enjoyed a nice home-cooked meal. 
My journey continued to Cville (Charlottesville,VA) home of the University of Virginia.  I was able to connect with former classmates, athletes, friends, roommates, and coaches.  I began the week by spending some time in a local Barnes and Noble/starbucks and decided to take the "strengthfinders" test by Tom Rath.  As it turns out the results didn't surprise me, haha.  My top five strengths included Positivity, Belief, Developer, Includer, and Activator.  Basically, this means that I am enthusiastic and get others excited about what I'm doing, work through a defined purpose in life, recognize and cultivate the potential in others, make an effort to include everyone, and last but not least love to turn thoughts into action (but most of the time this leads me to be impatient about the process of things haha).  The next day I enjoyed 2 great meals at Bodo's bagels and Baja Bean then headed for the Virginia blood services location to donate blood.  I enjoyed talking with the ladies there and it came to my attention how 1 nice person or 1 smile can brighten your day.  I left the center with 3 free tshirts and wonderful snacks (for anyone who is elgible to donate blood I would highly recommend it...even if your scared of needles it is worth it!).  That night I headed to meet up with the community group from Portico church which I
have attended throughout colllege. 
 Our group includes people from different walks of life including young children and parents!  We made s'mores and shared the adventures of our summers.  The next day I enjoyed a breakfast with a student, lunch with my former media relations coordinator for softball, and I was off to the dentist for one more teeth cleaning. I ended up getting an encouraging "God speed" and a couple of balloons (I know I'm not a little kid anymore but who doesn't like balloons and stickers!). 
Then I headed to hang out with one of my former roommates.  We went for a walk around grounds, dinner, and ended the night with neon bowling!  The last day in Cville I worked out, stopped in to see some of my coaches, and then went out to dinner with some sweet friends at a local pizza place (Brixx).
 This past weekend I spent some time in Appomattox,VA with one of my dearest friends from UVA!  We enjoyed having dinner with her family, going to church, and having a nice mexican dinner/movie night. We also visited her younger sister at Longowood University at her first weekend in college! (good luck with school Courtney!) It was nice catching up with everyone this past week and now I am on my way to Atlanta, then Alabama, then Louisiana, and I will finally be arriving in Houston on Friday!  The adventure continues!

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