Lydia Urban Academy (LUA)

 

I'm pretty sure I have the best job in the world... one of the hardest, but definitely the best! My "official" job title is Teacher's Aid, or Teaching Assistant, but I tend to wear MANY hats throughout the day. 

 *Nurse

*Counselor

*Parent

*Grandma (sometimes)

*Pharmacist 

*Security Guard

*Cook

*Therapist 

*Janitor

*Secretary

Just to name a few.....

What i'm trying to say is that my job is much more than I ever dreamed it would be when I first accepted the position. I have learned so much and grown more in the past 18 months than I thought possible. When I was working full time in Detroit there was something missing, but I could never put my finger on it. It wasn't until my first day at LUA that it hit me... before, in Detroit, I was sitting in an office or out running errands waiting for the kids to get out of school so I could hang out with them. I was missing out on the biggest part of their day- SCHOOL! Now if you would have told me a few years ago that I would end up working in a school I would have laughed in your face. I never liked school and chose not to be a teacher for a lot of reasons. God certainly has a sense of humor because look where HE put me. This is the perfect place for me, though. I get to be with my students up to 10 hours a day.. and I love it! It's challenging and I come home each night completely exhausted, but I wouldn't change a single thing!

One of my main jobs is discipline. When I first was told that I was pretty terrified... that meant I had to confront conflict head on! This, however has been such a great thing for me. Through figuring out what the student's "issue" is I am able to put a spiritual spin on things. I have the opportunity to share Christ with them when they are in a pretty dark place. I'm able to use scripture to help point them in the right direction, and I sometimes get the opportunity to pray with my students before sending them back to class. To me, those are the most important moments of my day/week. My students aren't always accepting of these things, but I know it means a lot to them.

With their permission I hope to share some of my students stories with you in the future. They all come from brokenness but with the help from LUA their lives are starting to change. 

At LUA, CHANGE HAPPENS!

How God brought me back to Chicago...

Lets go back in time a bit... Its August 2011. My Dad is in the hospital with a strange infection the Doctors can't figure out, my Mom is going through rigorous chemo treatments for her Breast Cancer, and my life in Detroit is in shambles. I take a month off from LifeBUILDERS to go home to be a "nurse" for my parents and quickly realize that God did not want me to return to Detroit. I start freaking out, because I am a missionary... people are supporting me financially and if I leave I will be letting them all down. I have to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. Do I disobey God and return to Detroit because I'm to afraid of disappointing everyone who cares about me, or do I obey God and leave LifeBUILDERS for good? 

Well, its pretty obvious which choice I chose. I resigned from LB on a Friday and started looking for a new job. Naturally I quickly contacted the two places that I had previously worked- South Side Mission in Peoria, and Lydia Home in Chicago.

On Tuesday I get a text from a friend who works at Lydia saying that there was a job opening in the Urban Academy and I needed to contact the director ASAP. I email Mandy my resume and she responds back very quickly. She wanted to interview me over the phone. She calls that afternoon and tells me all about LUA and the job I would have. The phone call was going very well and I could tell this was something I was really interested in. She needed to get back to teaching class and asked if she could call me back afterward and answer any questions I had. Between those two phone calls my Mom and I started praying. I asked my Mom if I should take this job if she offers it to me. My mom looked at me stunned and said "You would be crazy not to take this job, Lydia has ALWAYS been your dream, God is bringing your dream into reach!" In all the craziness of Detroit and my parents being so sick I had lost sight of my dream. It was true, Lydia was my dream. The next day I drove up to Lydia to meet Mandy and the students. She offered me the job there on the spot.. and it "just so happened" that there was a house Lydia owned that was made available for employees and there was a spot there for me to live **More on the house later! That was just one more confirmation from the Lord that this was exactly where He wanted me to be. 

When I started this job my prayer became "Lord, I want to stay in ONE place for at least two years and more if you'll let me." I was so exhausted of moving from place to place and starting over with new people. I was ready to set some roots. **More on that later! So far God has answered that prayer and allowed me to stay at Lydia for almost two years. I praise HIM for that because I see the difference that is being made through my time here. All because of Christ and for Christ!

NEW.. because I got locked out of my old blog!

HI :)

  I'm back on the blogging circuit. It has been a very long time since I have sat down to share my thoughts with y'all. So much has changed in my life in a short amount of time. In some ways time seems to be flying by. The last time I blogged I was living in Detroit, and now I've been back in Chicago for over a year and half. God brought me back to Chicago for a specific purpose, and I believe I am living out that purpose every day at Lydia Home. My number one passion is Jesus Christ, and second being serving him in an urban context. Since I was little girl, around age 12, I wanted to work at Lydia Home. My heart felt a deep love for "orphans". While in college I volunteered at Lydia every Thursday night. Upon graduating there wasn't an available job for me at Lydia, so I went to Detroit instead. My time in Detroit was, well interesting to say the least. In some ways I'm still waiting for God to reveal all of the lessons he was trying to teach me during those 10 months. If anything He taught me that living 10 hours from home, while both my parents were going through severe health problems, was not an option. Thankfully Lydia was here to catch me as I was falling. I spent about 3 days after I resigned from LifeBUILDERS doubting my calling to urban ministry. I was weary, felt defeated and was ready to move back home to comfortable Canton. During those days several people spoke truth to me and reminded me of my passion for the city. I'm so glad those feelings only lasted a few days. Five days after I resigned from LB I was hired at Lydia in their alternative high school, Lydia Urban Academy. I feel truly at home here... God has guided my steps to just the right place and just the right time for me to be here. 

Most of my blogging will probably center around my days (and nights) at Lydia, because lets me honest... my life is centered around this place and I wouldn't have it any other way. Ministry is about living life with people, and I'm definitely living life with those whom I work with and serve at Lydia. I plan to pour my heart out to whoever plans on reading this. I hope you're prepared for some serious heart to hearts! Enjoy :)