Towards a Joyful Soul

I have exciting news about the future! I'm going to be staying in New Orleans for another year! In the last year, there have been so many ways that I wanted to be further involved in this city and community, but haven't had the chance because of my time commitments to the YAV program. New Orleans is a culturally unique and vibrant city that has so much to offer and to teach. I'm excited to try new dance classes, be more involved in my church community, and explore new parts of the city! I welcome visitors! Because of the travel ban in effect for the PC(USA) church, the next YAV year will not start until January. Thanks to Dan, the YAV Board, and the Presbytery of Southern Louisiana, I will be allowed to stay in the Big Green House rent-free through the end of December, saving beaucoup bucks! The most exciting part of the news, in my opinion, is that I will be staying on at Eden House, hired as the Program Administrator . I've learned so much during my time at Ed

A year in the life... First night in the Big Green House with Canadian David and Davis Crying with new friends at orientation My birthday was our first full day in the city We spent a week developing our community covenant and had our first fight Our first time volunteering at the Presbytery Meeting Halloween was when Canadian David let us know he was leaving Emily and I bonded over exploring our storage unit Eden House had its annual fundraiser,  Building Dreams Spent Thanksgiving with my host family, Sarah and her husband David Went to Celebration in the Oaks with Emily My best friend in Austria, Leah, and her friend, Marie, visited for New Year's Eve Performed my first liturgical dance over MLK weekend Had some bonfires with the house community with some dramatic neighbor instances My small group babies from Elon visited me I went to a Mardi Gras Ball with my boss, Susanne (sorry for the terri

Dear Kristina from the past, Buckle up because you have no idea what you're in for. Living in the Big Green House will be like living in a soap opera and you'll be in the center. Working at Eden House will be like running around like a chicken with her head cut off. You will love deeply and cry with abandon. Your heart will break for those around you and for yourself. You are not prepared and there's no way to fully be prepared, but that's life. You have people around you who will offer their support: Dan, your parents, your small group, your therapist. But most of all, you have strength within yourself. When you get in touch with yourself, you will come to know a raw, fierce, vulnerable, deeply caring, beautiful, wonderful, whimsical soul. Discovering her will be the hardest work you do this year and the biggest blessing for your future. In all things, stay true to yourself. God will be with you through it all: through the peaks, when you're riding the high

In my undergraduate career, for my research, I interviewed many activists around the country about the influence of their faith on their social justice work. Additionally, my faith significantly influences my own advocacy. So naturally, when my friend Janay Tyson  hosted a Zoom meeting with her friend on how we can fight for justice in this moment as Christians, I wanted to be part of that conversation. I was honored to be able to listen to two Black women speak so eloquently and honestly about how they see God speaking into their lives and to the social movement at this time. In this blog post, I will not be speaking on their behalf. Rather, I wanted to share with you my own reflections and takeaways from that Zoom meeting. But, I preface with the context of these reflections to give them credit for speaking their truths and giving me spiritual food for thought. Working towards justice is not a task that will be accomplished in a week. It will not be accomplished in a