time to play

another surprise came in the form of an afternoon off to hike a mountain together. i don't think it could have been much more perfect. it was a beautiful day, breezy and quiet. we were able to just sit and relax and have some covetted time alone... oh yeah, and we'll take any excuse for a photo op.

our first adventure

well, a lot of what we are doing this year comes as a surprise. for the benefit of any readers that might apply to the forge, i will continue to be cryptic so that these things will be a surprise for you, as well. our first major adventure began with us knowing what to pack and when to show up at the vans... that was all. then we loaded up in the vans and drove for 13 hours. we got to our destination and went straight to the grocery store so we'd have food for the week. next thing we know it, we're locked out of our van. awesome. well, at least the boys enjoyed trying to break in with a coat hanger. after 45 minutes and all of their macgyver moves, it only took the AAA man 30 seconds to open the door.

the next few days were full of volunteer work and learning from some incredible people. we stuffed over 10,000 packets and worked on other similar types of projects. we helped prevent fire hazards and shook a lot of hands. this is so vague, sorry... but i will tell you that we got to hear from some fantastic speakers and met a few people that are really good at what they do. as a group we're being challenged to listen with a critical ear, that we may be ready to learn from someone's content as it compares with Truth but also from presentation styles.

one of the most influential subjects i heard from was about "allowing God to disturb us." may i not be satisfied with just having right answers or living well, but may i be transformed from the inside out. may my identity be so revolutionized as i surrender to Christ that my actions and words are changed as the tangible overflow of my inner self, not the other way around.

shoulder pads and yummy food

here we are: the girls at one of our weekly family dinners. we try to eat together as a house for most meals and once a week we trade with they guys, cooking for and eating with all fourteen of us. this particular night we had the opportunity to host some guests as well.
the weekend before, my mother was generous enough to donate many of her styling dresses for the towers skit closet. before we let these fashion gems get out of the house we used them to help us host as well as possible. shoulder pads and all, it was a successful evening but there was a ridiculously huge mess.
we didn't have time to even think about cleaning as we had to rush off from dinner to a speaker session. when we returned it had all been cleaned up... completely spotless. one of our guests knew exactly how to bless us after a long, stressful day. may i remember the little things that are so incredible in loving other people!

let the classes begin...

monday morning marked the first of our classes. we have now had a full week of speakers and opportunities to learn about many different wonderful topics. our actual class time involves a huge variety of subject matter. Life 101- practical life skills, Nehemiah- practical leadership skills, Sanctus- concepts to help understand living a holy life, Book Discussion, Leadership theory- discussing the theory behind leadership, Anvil- speaker sessions

this week was very purposeful in all that was discussed. a foundation is being laid for the next 8 months of this program. the first we are reading is Dietrich Bonhoffer's Life Together. he discusses the concept of community and what that must be within the body of Christ. it must be a treasured thing. since we are bound by the Holy Spirit we have encouragement and beautiful communion by the sheer presence of another believer. by recognizing the privilege of community we can take advantage of and see our need for each other.

“Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ.” (Bonhoeffer, Life Together p23)

by understanding more of our need for Jesus we can love each other more effectively through living together... whether we are in a discipleship program, in a family, at a school, or persecuted in remote corner of the world.

orientation

here we are: 14 young adults, 8 girls and 6 guys. we have different stories but we all come together because we have so much to learn. we met about a week ago and we already feel like family. it's hard to think that it's only been a few days of living with each other (or next door...).
this last week was wonderful. there was a lot scheduled for our "orientation", most of it wound up being a surprise. one of our very first meetings included going to an actual forge near here in Whitehouse, TX. there we spoke with a very talented man named Charles who helped us learn about how a forge transforms raw materials into beautiful, functional tools. the right environment is the key to help purify and shape the metal. that is what we are doing for these 8 months, diving into the right environment to be transformed. there is nothing magical about where we are or what we are doing, we are just making ourselves available to be taught.
what a privilege!! i am completely in awe with what we are being handed. there are so many people investing their love in this year that we may grow to be humble representations of the God we serve. we are stewarding so many resources that i'm pretty overwhelmed at the idea of learning to use all that we are being given.
i'm barely skimming the surface here, but please know that your love and prayers are appreciated. our first day of actual classes begins tomorrow... i can't believe i get to enjoy such a journey!!

i am overwhelmed with the amount of love and support that has been offered to help me through this program already. please email me (goco19@yahoo.com) with your address so i can send you a support package if you are interested in more specifics about what i'm doing. i appreciate any help that could be offered!

if you want to help support me for The Forge, you can also go directly to the site to donate...
http://www.pinecove.com/aboutus/designated.php

go to "designate your gift" (it's in the paragraph on the left), in the pop up window scroll down to "designated giving", choose "The Forge" as the camp, choose "support a Forge Student", type "caitlin o'reilly" for donor notes ... and follow the rest of the instructions...

a little background

this last summer was wonderful- stretching and fruitful. every single day involved something different that was a challenge for me. i had the opportunity to work at Towers, the elementary-aged Pine Cove camp for my 5th summer. although i have been around this ministry a little while, i wasn't able to sink into familiarity and grow stagnant... i was on stage- a lot- and if you know me, you know that’s a humorous picture, not because i’m funny, but that’s just not what i would have ever picked for myself to do. what’s even funnier is that i now really enjoy everything i did this summer- even on stage.

i am convinced i had the most incredibly privileged position in the world. i was with a team of some of my closest friends, guiding a group of phenomenal college students. we got to push eachother toward excellence so we could model the example of Christ, living every moment out of the motivation of Love. i definitely had moments when i got to look around and see the beauty of what we were doing. i was able to witness these young adults help kids understand the Love of a living savior simply by acting like complete fools. one specific moment that i realized the sweetness of our purpose, i was overwhelmed with both tears and laughter. i stood dressed as a girl scout, talking in a lisp, and watching staff run around like buffalo. there in a huge mud pit, civilized human beings forgot how old they were and saw their only responsibility in the world as to play with muddy children. it's not always easy to see the purpose behind what we do, or to enjoy every moment to the fullest. but, life is good because God is good. the challenges of different tasks make the glimpses of goodness that much more precious.

and the challenges continue as i return to camp for the next 8 months. this time i am not there to lead or to teach, but i have the privilege to be involved with a discipleship program where my own convictions will be challenged. how amazing is it that the Truth that we teach during the summer is simple enough for a child to trust... while that very same Truth is so infinite that we will never understand its perfection!!!

it's really crazy to think about what the Lord has in store. He is Good and that's all i need to know. let's just hold on to our seats, laugh, and take it one day at a time... we're off to be refined through The Forge!!

disclaimer

1st post disclaimer: i don't get this whole blog thing. really. so, forgive my poor spelling and my grammar problems. there are just so many people that i want to keep in touch with that this is the most effective way. so i'm going to type as if i were talking... bear with me :)

if you're reading this, thank you. i love that you even opened this page, you didn't have to. i will do my best to keep you updated about what the Lord is doing in my life.