Rachael Sends Us An Update!

Rachael Bauman is a member of our community who is serving as a Young Adult Volunteer in Miami. The YAV program is a great opportunity to participate in a year of mission service in the PC(USA). It is one of the best things happening in our larger church!

Dear Loved Ones,

I hope that my last letter did not cause you too much alarm or panic. I received several letters of concern after my last reflection. I feel safe almost all the time. I have learned which corners are drug corners, and I try to avoid them when at all possible.

I have started tax classes. I actually find the subject fascinating and enjoy being back in "school." I am doing really well in class, and I think I will be comfortable doing over a hundred returns this next tax season. Though much of what I am learning will not apply to my clients who will not be making over 100,000 dollars or have to worry about fringe benefits totaling too much. In addition, Sunday mornings I have taken over the chiropractor paperwork. Twice a month two different chiropractors come and provide free services for our patrons.

In addition, one of my many jobs is to print/copy job listings every week to hand out. People who come in looking for work can get a job listing with the available positions and contact information. This last Sunday, I was walking through an outside mall and someone called my name. It was a lady who I had talked to and given a job listing. She was working in a shop that she had just been hired in. Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline talks about celebrating with others in community how God is working in their lives. It was great to celebrate with someone who had been praying for a long time for this second job. Also, it is a good feeling to know that God is working through you to do good things.

I voted here in Florida. You actually bubble in the person which is a bit different than our computer system. Then you go and scan the papers through the optical scanner machine. I admit that the first time I heard that name I pictured something from Sci-Fi that would scan your eye. I am a nerd. Everybody who was anybody in the campaigns was coming to Florida. I tried to attend one of the many Obama rallies here but was unsuccessful. I waited three hours to see Hillary Clinton but it ended up getting canceled due to a plane delay. I was 12th in line.

The CCDA conference just finished up. It is the Christian Community Development Association. It is basically a conference for Non-profit people. It was awesome (and I mean this word in the way it was originally intended) to be surrounded by all the people "doing good" in the world. I attended a workshop on helping with Sexual Abuse (specifically incest) victims. It was depressing and hopeful at the same time. Almost all of the people that attended told their personal stories. Eye-opening would be the least I could say.

In Overtown this month, there was another murder of a high school student. This time the boy was continuously receiving anonymous threats. When he went outside to the dumpster at his job he was shot and then burned. Please pray for the family and community.

Love,
Rachael