I’ve been wanting to blog for awhile now, so here I am! I apologize for not doing it sooner! I wanted to give everyone who is new to THIS blog (I have a personal one too, click HERE to read it!) an idea of what Im currently up to/how I currently live. I touched on this a little in my bio too 🙂
I work for Doulos Ministries in Branson, MO. Doulos is a three-fold ministry that has Shelterwood, LeadTime and The Sky’s The Limit. Doulos is the greek work for “bond servant”. Even though we have freedom in Christ, we still choose to serve him on our own free will. We choose servanthood over full freedom.
Shelterwood is the main ministry, its a residential care facility for teenagers and their families in crisis. We take kids ages 13-18 who 
need help emotionally and otherwise in several areas. We have two propteries, one in Kansas City, MO, and the one here in
Branson. Shelterwood provides group, individual, and family counseling
and specific care for the kids. We have a level system, where the first
two levels are timed (7 weeks total), and levels 3-5 are progress
based.Kids can be here anywhere form 7 months to 2 years, depending on issues and progress.
There is also a private school at both properties.Shelterwood is a
co-ed program, but maintain almost separate programs. The boys live in
one house, and the girls live about 50 yards away in another house. We
do share meals together, and the kids have school together, but thats
pretty much it for opposite gender interactions. The kids have rules they have to follow, and if they dont, they receive consequences, probably the hardest part of being here. I’ve learned how to deal with conflict and handle tough situations A LOT this year.
need help emotionally and otherwise in several areas. We have two propteries, one in Kansas City, MO, and the one here inBranson. Shelterwood provides group, individual, and family counseling
and specific care for the kids. We have a level system, where the first
two levels are timed (7 weeks total), and levels 3-5 are progress
based.Kids can be here anywhere form 7 months to 2 years, depending on issues and progress.
There is also a private school at both properties.Shelterwood is a
co-ed program, but maintain almost separate programs. The boys live in
one house, and the girls live about 50 yards away in another house. We
do share meals together, and the kids have school together, but thats
pretty much it for opposite gender interactions. The kids have rules they have to follow, and if they dont, they receive consequences, probably the hardest part of being here. I’ve learned how to deal with conflict and handle tough situations A LOT this year.
We provide 24/7 care and have a “homey” type atmosphere. I live in the same room as two girls, which Im sure you’re thinking “HOW DOES SHE DO IT?!!?” Well, I tell you, its not easy sometimes. There is a level of trust you have to build and earn/receive. It can be hard, because the kids see exactly what you’re personally dealing with as well as any other “stuff” you might have shoved in the dusty corners of your life. I’ve had a few bad days (mainly in January and April, where I had deaths in the family) where I sat and cried and was comforted by the “little sisters”. I’ve had great days where we talk and share and act silly together. Thankfully the good outweigh the bad. We currently have 11 little sisters, and 11 big sisters, its great having a 1 to 1 ratio! We get lots of quality time with them, and its fun to just hang out with them instead of always being their authority figure and givng out consequences. We have two girls graduating next week! Im so excited, and cant wait for them to have a “normal” life, Shelterwood isnt normal life. Graduations are my favorite part, because you really get to see how far they have come! (This is a pic of my old little, Savannah. She was my little from MY beginning until her END. LOVE her dearly!)
LeadTime is another part of Doulos. Im IN the LeadTime program, where it is our ministry to work with Shelterwood teens. We have classes like I mentioned in the bio: Life of Christ, Life of Paul, Community, Spiritual Gifts, The Truth Project (SOOOO AWESOME), Discipleship Essentials and group, Womens bible study/group and Counseling teens. We spend our mornings after breakfast in class, where we are poured into by the LeadTime staff. They spend quality time with us weekly, and help us grow and mature, and process a LOT of things. (And we have a lot to process, trust me!) We also have personal mentors, that we spend weekly time with. Mine is WONDERFUL! I love her so much! That is pretty much the LT aspect. (We all went canoeing about a month ago!)
The third part of Doulos is The Sky’s The Limit (or TSTL). It is a ministry that helps inner city kids go to day camp in the summer mostly. But its also all about community, and fostering community in the inner city and areas where its hard to go to church. We dont really have much interaction with TSTL, they are based in Kansas City. But its an awesome thing!
Doulos was started by the people over at Kanakuk Kamps, just down the road from us. Its pretty cool that it started 30 years ago, and its still running strong! A lot of the same people are still involved!
Our Summer schedule has arrived, and things are pretty busy! Im in charge of Game Night with another Big Sister on Tuesday nights, and also am “teaching” a cooking/baking class with two other big sisters for the girls’ personal growth and development on Friday mornings. Its really fun! On Wednesdays, we volunteer in the community, which is so great. I get to go to the same ministry weekly, a local food pantry. Its a completely heart breaking and humbling experience. BUT I LOVE IT! My heart is fully in it!
I have two and a half months left in LeadTime and at Doulos, and Im starting to feel sad about it. I think its just going to be weird being in a place where I have NO community at all where I’ve had it for a full few years. Its gonna be crazy but awesome at the same time. I am going to be sad missing the graduations of current littles that I’ve invested so much time in, and its going to be weird being away from the people who know me best in this life. But its exciting to look forward to being in another intense community with my fellow racers. YAY! I look forward to traning camp and a year full of relationship building!
So this is my life…. until my time is up.
