Day 2

So I've been in Denver for two days now.  We have training for the rest of this week and next week, and I've already learned a lot about what to expect and what my year of service will entail, but I've got a lot to learn still! The house we live in, called the Seton House, was built in 1915, so it carries with it many little blessings, including no air conditioning, one shower for 10 girls, and a layout that is impossible to learn.  Denver, too, has graced me with blessings of city noise, perpetually chapped lips, and a very limited view.  (Earlier today a teammate commented that the sky was so clear and beautiful, and my first thought was, Yeah, all three inches of it that I can see.  I'm working on being more positive toward city life.) 

But my journey so far also brings many other, perhaps more easily noticable, blessings, like so many wonderful people, learning more about what it means to be a missionary with CIC and afterwards, and a huge house with plenty of space and a garden/fountain area with apple trees and grape vines.  And while I don't like being hot all the time, or waking up in the middle of the night to loud trucks driving by, I know that these little sufferings really are gifts from God, so that I can join my sufferings to the cross for the salvation of souls.

Teresa of Avila once suffered a broken arm, and was unable to do much of anything for a while. (Broken arms were a bigger deal back then.)  During this time she asked God, "Why have you given this to me? It is just holding me back from doing the work of your kingdom." To which God replied, "This is the way that I treat my friends."  Teresa quickly retorted, "Perhaps that is why you have so few." (I'm completely paraphrasing this, by the way.)  

It's true, though.  The sufferings that God chooses to give us, whether it be no air conditioning, a broken arm, or homelessness, are not easy.  (If they are easy for you, I commend you.  When you get to heaven, pray for the rest of us.)  But through his cross, Christ chose the path of suffering as the path to heaven.  And at the end of time, no one will be allowed into heaven without carrying a cross with them (says some saint... sorry I'm sometimes bad with details). 

So anyway, since I've only been here for a couple days, I didn't have much to update you on, but maybe in one of my next posts, I'll try to give a full rundown of what Christ in the City really is and what I will be doing here... once I learn a bit more about that myself! :)