I can't believe our Amate year is already wrapping up...it seriously feels like we just moved in and Kate and I painted our rooms during orientation. But then I think back to what my life was like before I knew my 12 wonderful roommates of Amate South House and that seems like a lifetime ago.
We had a packed Holy Thursday at the Teen Center. First we were open our normal time from 3-7, then took 15 kids to 7:00 mass which lasted almost 2 hours (including a procession through the streets to one of the other churches), then 3 hours of church hopping through the south side of Chicago, then a lock-in that lasted until 6:30 the next morning. It was so exhausting that I was actually able to sleep for some of my 7 hour bus ride home to Minnesota for Easter weekend!
I have submitted my first ever (and second) grant proposal and we are praying and crossing our fingers that we get some money and we will be sending in many more if all goes according to plan.
Kozy and I are still trying to work out a way for me to live in Chicago and work at the Teen Center next year (probably will be part-time unless our grant writing is super successful) and I will update when I know more.
Both Emilys of the Amate 2009-2010 Volunteers are now engaged! Our very own Emily was proposed to over Easter weekend and will be tying the knot on my birthday in 2011!! Congrats to her and George!!
Amate Magic is less than a month away and I can't wait to have Mom and Popsie in town for it, to sit at the OLGC table (with Kozy, Father Tom, and former Amate workers) and have many free drinks! It's going to be an awesome event!
Collin Krantz was baptized this morning in Dallas. All my prayers are headed his way today and then will shift toward Grandpa for his surgery on Thursday. Luckily most of the fam was able to be in Texas for those 2 big events!
Well, it's late so I will end for now...sweet dreams! Thanks for reading!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
87 kids=87issues=87lives touched=87prayers
2 exciting things happened recently at the Teen Center...
First of all we went on the annual ReachOut Retreat with Christ the King Parish and it was a huge sucess! We had 12 kids, 4 young adult volunteers, 2 former Teen Center staff members/Amate volunteers, Kozy, Linda and myself attend. It was a faith-filled, fun, sleepless weekend and I was able to connect with my kids on a much deeper level. We had one kid sign up at 6pm Friday night and we were leaving only an hour later; and he ended up loving the weekend! We still have a long way to go with him but I think this was an important first step. We had many returners who were given the opportunity to be small group leaders and who volunteered themselves to give a talk in front of the whole group. I spent weeks helping many of them prepare their testimonies and I am proud to say they all did fantastic. I found the weekend to be somewhat of a struggle because the teens from the other parish lead completely different lives than my kids. While I know it is beneficial for them to interact and create different types of friendships, at some points it was hard to relate to each other. At first a couple of my kids asked why I was with them and not with the other white kids who "looked like me" but after awhile assured me that I belonged with them and my place was in McKinley Park. I had a great time on the weekend despite my lack of sleep.
The other exciting thing that happened was that we had 87 kids on a single day at the Teen Center. That means that in a four hour time span we had almost 100 kids walk through our doors, stay for some time period, hang out, and get off the streets for at least a little bit! Looking back on September and October when we were lucky to get 35 kids, this averaging 65 kids per day is both a blessing and a curse. While I love having a busy Teen Center I am feeling the stress of a short staff. My boss went out of town for a few days, my co-worker went home to be with her sick grandpa, one of my volunteers failed to show up for 3 straight days, and another had to leave half-way through the day to go to his other job. This has left me alone with the kids on several occasions and rather than being able to enjoy their company I am forced to constantly walk around checking on everyone, giving warnings for swearing, and breaking up fights/arguments. But, I am so happy the kids have found the Teen Center and I am praying we can find funding to remain open next year and have a more complete staff (including myself!)
Sarah and her 2 roommates came to visit last week which was a lot of fun. I always enjoy spending time with my Sista and it was fun just hanging out in Chicago with them. They introduced me to a new restaurant up north in Wrigleyville that was quite delicious.
Well, time to go to work and make some more progress on my grant writing and get ready for the kids to come.
My time is winding down at Amate and I am working hard to enjoy every minute I have left!
Love and miss you all,
Meg
First of all we went on the annual ReachOut Retreat with Christ the King Parish and it was a huge sucess! We had 12 kids, 4 young adult volunteers, 2 former Teen Center staff members/Amate volunteers, Kozy, Linda and myself attend. It was a faith-filled, fun, sleepless weekend and I was able to connect with my kids on a much deeper level. We had one kid sign up at 6pm Friday night and we were leaving only an hour later; and he ended up loving the weekend! We still have a long way to go with him but I think this was an important first step. We had many returners who were given the opportunity to be small group leaders and who volunteered themselves to give a talk in front of the whole group. I spent weeks helping many of them prepare their testimonies and I am proud to say they all did fantastic. I found the weekend to be somewhat of a struggle because the teens from the other parish lead completely different lives than my kids. While I know it is beneficial for them to interact and create different types of friendships, at some points it was hard to relate to each other. At first a couple of my kids asked why I was with them and not with the other white kids who "looked like me" but after awhile assured me that I belonged with them and my place was in McKinley Park. I had a great time on the weekend despite my lack of sleep.
The other exciting thing that happened was that we had 87 kids on a single day at the Teen Center. That means that in a four hour time span we had almost 100 kids walk through our doors, stay for some time period, hang out, and get off the streets for at least a little bit! Looking back on September and October when we were lucky to get 35 kids, this averaging 65 kids per day is both a blessing and a curse. While I love having a busy Teen Center I am feeling the stress of a short staff. My boss went out of town for a few days, my co-worker went home to be with her sick grandpa, one of my volunteers failed to show up for 3 straight days, and another had to leave half-way through the day to go to his other job. This has left me alone with the kids on several occasions and rather than being able to enjoy their company I am forced to constantly walk around checking on everyone, giving warnings for swearing, and breaking up fights/arguments. But, I am so happy the kids have found the Teen Center and I am praying we can find funding to remain open next year and have a more complete staff (including myself!)
Sarah and her 2 roommates came to visit last week which was a lot of fun. I always enjoy spending time with my Sista and it was fun just hanging out in Chicago with them. They introduced me to a new restaurant up north in Wrigleyville that was quite delicious.
Well, time to go to work and make some more progress on my grant writing and get ready for the kids to come.
My time is winding down at Amate and I am working hard to enjoy every minute I have left!
Love and miss you all,
Meg
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Ringing in the New Year at Amate
Well, my promises to be more active on blogging has failed miserably.
Chicago is not much different than before but I will try and highlight a few fun events that have made life more enjoyable.
First off, not related to Chi, at Christmas time all the Krantz's were able to make it to Dallas to meet our new cousin, Collin! I also got to meet Amanda, the cutest 3 year old since Riley. It was wonderful spending time with them and the rest of the Krantz clan, we always have a good time together, no matter what we do. Our 30 empty wine bottles were proof of the fun; and memories of spoons, ice skating, family pics, and lots of eating and mojitos solidified it. Time in MN over Christmas break was wonderful as well and getting to see friends and the Schatzlein side of the fam. I also got to get in my fix of cross country skiing since I didn't bring my skis to Chicago.
Back to Chicago news, the Teen Center has been going well, we are now averaging 50-60 kids every single day, our highest was 72 kids with 4 young adult volunteers and 3 staff members!! Crazy day!
We took the kids to a UIC men's basketball game and they enjoyed getting out of McKinley Park and seeing a college sports center.
The middle schoolers from Evergreen are deep in their own basketball season and the boys team has a close to undefeated season. The girls are fighting hard for the wins they do get but enjoying every game. And of course, the basketball court at the Teen Center is occupied all 4 hours we are open. Volleyball is a daily activity as is pool and air hockey. With the cold weather kids are staying longer and have more energy, providing for some crazy times upstairs. A former Amate volunteer and Teen Center staff member, Rebecca, has been stopping by and we had a fun jump rope contest on Thursday. The most consecutive jumps was 300!!
We have been having a lot of planning meetings with Christ the King parish for our upcoming retreat in February. A lot of our kids and young adult volunteers have been attending the meetings and it should be a success!
Our Superbowl adult party fundraiser is this weekend and we are working hard to get the place ready for it. It should be fun and I hear it goes late into the morning with lots of eating, drinking, and football watching.
My house just got done with Simplicity Boot Camp week and had an urban plunge group from St. Norbert College stay with us. We also had a Dirtiest Person Contest to see who could conserve the most water by going the longest without showering. I lasted from Monday afternoon to Friday morning and had a couple workouts in there, pretty gross. Jessie won going from Sunday night to Saturday afternoon!
We had Cardinal George at our house for a community night dinner and that was a fun and educational evening, it felt like we had a celebrity over!
Weekends are usually spent relaxing and catching up on sleep and our to-do lists after busy work weeks. Last weekend however, I made a spontaneous trip home to see Sista's swim meet at St. Cloud. I also got to go to the cross country ski meet at Theodore Wirth Saturday and Sunday and it felt like old times cheering on the Johnnies and Blazers in the Minnesota cold. Watched a heartbreaking Vikings loss at KK and Dick's but was glad to be in the presence of fellow Vikes fans and family.
Well, that's all for now, as always, I will try and blog more often!
Peace, love, and Chicago winds!
-Megg1
Chicago is not much different than before but I will try and highlight a few fun events that have made life more enjoyable.
First off, not related to Chi, at Christmas time all the Krantz's were able to make it to Dallas to meet our new cousin, Collin! I also got to meet Amanda, the cutest 3 year old since Riley. It was wonderful spending time with them and the rest of the Krantz clan, we always have a good time together, no matter what we do. Our 30 empty wine bottles were proof of the fun; and memories of spoons, ice skating, family pics, and lots of eating and mojitos solidified it. Time in MN over Christmas break was wonderful as well and getting to see friends and the Schatzlein side of the fam. I also got to get in my fix of cross country skiing since I didn't bring my skis to Chicago.
Back to Chicago news, the Teen Center has been going well, we are now averaging 50-60 kids every single day, our highest was 72 kids with 4 young adult volunteers and 3 staff members!! Crazy day!
We took the kids to a UIC men's basketball game and they enjoyed getting out of McKinley Park and seeing a college sports center.
The middle schoolers from Evergreen are deep in their own basketball season and the boys team has a close to undefeated season. The girls are fighting hard for the wins they do get but enjoying every game. And of course, the basketball court at the Teen Center is occupied all 4 hours we are open. Volleyball is a daily activity as is pool and air hockey. With the cold weather kids are staying longer and have more energy, providing for some crazy times upstairs. A former Amate volunteer and Teen Center staff member, Rebecca, has been stopping by and we had a fun jump rope contest on Thursday. The most consecutive jumps was 300!!
We have been having a lot of planning meetings with Christ the King parish for our upcoming retreat in February. A lot of our kids and young adult volunteers have been attending the meetings and it should be a success!
Our Superbowl adult party fundraiser is this weekend and we are working hard to get the place ready for it. It should be fun and I hear it goes late into the morning with lots of eating, drinking, and football watching.
My house just got done with Simplicity Boot Camp week and had an urban plunge group from St. Norbert College stay with us. We also had a Dirtiest Person Contest to see who could conserve the most water by going the longest without showering. I lasted from Monday afternoon to Friday morning and had a couple workouts in there, pretty gross. Jessie won going from Sunday night to Saturday afternoon!
We had Cardinal George at our house for a community night dinner and that was a fun and educational evening, it felt like we had a celebrity over!
Weekends are usually spent relaxing and catching up on sleep and our to-do lists after busy work weeks. Last weekend however, I made a spontaneous trip home to see Sista's swim meet at St. Cloud. I also got to go to the cross country ski meet at Theodore Wirth Saturday and Sunday and it felt like old times cheering on the Johnnies and Blazers in the Minnesota cold. Watched a heartbreaking Vikings loss at KK and Dick's but was glad to be in the presence of fellow Vikes fans and family.
Well, that's all for now, as always, I will try and blog more often!
Peace, love, and Chicago winds!
-Megg1
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