Hello summertime!

There's nothing like spring in Nebraska! However, I'm in Kansas where spring has proved just as amazing. There have been entire days where there is just a steady downpour of rain. For a Nebraska girl from the Sandhills, the fact that one might actually NEED an umbrella is a culture shock. But the grasses are green and blooming, the few cattle I've seen are already chest-deep in luscious green stalks.

Besides the rain and green grass, things have been changing here at Main Place as well!

At the end of May, two of our staff will be leaving this season of their lives for other God-given plans. The program director is heading to San Diego to plant a church there while my roommate is leaving to spend time with her family and prepare for a siblings wedding! I've only been here for a few months, but both of these women will be greatly missed at the house.

Some of our residents are preparing to graduate the program in a few months (PTL!) and it's been such a blessing to see Jesus work in their hearts and lives and bring about understanding. 

Personally, I've been running around the country like it's my job!

The first week of May I spent a few days in Atlanta, GA with some awesome cousins! They showed me the sights, took me out to eat, and were the best Georgia parents a "homeless" child could ask for. More than anything, though, I enjoyed listening to them tell stories of all the adventures they'd had and getting lots of advice about traveling, life, and taking care of aging cats. =) For the first time in my life, I boarded an airplane by myself and worked through all the travel issues on my own! Needless to say, I'll be doing it much more frequently in the future!

Two weeks ago, I watched three of my very dear friends graduate from college! I was at their high school graduations and I was so proud to see them finish their bachelor degrees. Seeing them walk across the stage, then spending the rest of the day laughing, talking and catching up made me so thankful that Jesus kept us all together through the years. I remember crying out to God years ago, that I didn't want to lose friends like these. The cries came from a selfish place but Jesus used those friendships to force me to grow and reach out to Him more and more.

My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by sorting cattle all day. This was the first year I haven't been home to start putting cattle out to pasture on our little slice of Heaven, in 12 years or so. It was bittersweet knowing that one of my favorite spring activities was happening without me, but "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good."

Within the next few months, I'll be doing more traveling! In July I'm planning on taking a road trip with a college friend. In August, my partner in crime cousin, is getting married! My middle sister turns 16 and I'll be 23 this summer. June will be full of VBS', camps, and going to the pool. I'm hoping to start training to run a 10K this fall and I'm always on the hunt for a perfect cup of coffee. And thus sums up the life of a Nebraska expatriate in Kansas. =)

Prayer is often our last resort when issues arise, but God desires communication with us daily and in every circumstance. Prayers for the House this summer: that the girls will meet with Jesus while at camp in June, that they will realize God has plans for them as leaders in their communities as we work at VBS in town, and that each of them will learn that God's love for us has to spill over into loving others, no matter what we believe their circumstances to be. Prayers for the staff: that we will find a Jesus following, people loving, heart-led young woman to join our team of Teaching Parents, that God's strength in us will continue to grow, because our strength will always fail but His is always and forever present, and that we will speak the truth in love to our girls. Prayers for me personally: that I won't get homesick, that I will be present and forthright, and that Kansas doesn't smother my Nebraska roots.

January adventure update

Dearest friends and family,

            How time flies here in Kansas! It’s been three weeks since I've started here at Main Place Youth and January is officially over.

            A quick break down of what I’m doing here: my position is called a Teaching Parent and it’s quite literally being a parent to these girls. Along with myself there are three other Teaching Parents, Ms. Violet, Ms. Valerie, and Ms. Lenae. All of them have been here for at least seven months so they’ve been great at helping me learn the ropes! Each day my job is to make sure the students at Main Place get through their routine, which is much, much harder than it sounds!

            As we go through the day each girl earns points for positive actions like following instructions, appropriate response, accepting “no,” and others. If they do something negative they also earn negative points for that action. The points correspond to levels and the levels have certain privileges associated with them. It seems like a complicated system but it is effective!

            The teaching parents do all of the appointment running, basketball game going, and organizing of Saturday afternoon games and activities. We also have to coordinate on discipline and any requests the girls make. After doing that for a couple of weeks it quickly became evident that it was vital to be united in Christ as leaders! It’s been awesome to pray together before the day starts and learn and grow together through the church here in Kingman.

            The girls are sweet and have shown me a lot of grace as I get started here. There’s definitely a learning curve with each individual girl, feeling out exactly how they will respond to criticism, what their strengths are, and where they stand in their relationship with Christ. As the girls advance levels they are allowed to participate in school activities and sports. Most of the girls are very into music and art so it’s fun to hear them singing as they get ready for the day!

            Kingman is only 45 miles or so from Wichita so on my days off I’ve gone shopping there and checked out the city a little. It’s still far larger than any place I’ve driven on a regular basis so I still hesitate to drive there very often. The city of Kingman has a population of about 3,000 so it’s a little more familiar to drive in!

            There’s so much more that I would love to share with all of you but it’s so hard to type it out in a letter. If you think of it I would really appreciate any prayer you can spare! The first thing you could pray for is that all of the teaching parents here would continue to exhibit Christ through their interactions with the girls. Second, pray for the girls to experience Christ during their time here at Main Place. Third, if you can pray that the girls will have a true heart and lifestyle change while they are here and afterwards, that the change will stick for life.

            Hope and pray that all is well with you! Please write, call, email, or text anytime because I’d love to hear from you all!

In Christ,

Jennifer Connell

1111 N. Main Street

Kingman KS 67068

Jenn.anita.conn2010@gmail.com