busy, busy, busy

Its been a mix of fun and work. I have a picture or two on someone else's camera that I want to show when I explain the fun stuff, so for now I'll just give an overview of the types of training we've been receiveing. I always hae to keep in mind that we will be working side by side with people who have degrees in social work, so we are trying to get as much training as possible in two weeks to help us prepare for and know how to respond in a variety of situations.
One part of the seminars that we have been attending are about living in community. There are many factors that go into participating in community life, where all resources and responsibilities are shared between up to 10 people that need to be understood. So we've spent some time exploring those. We've also spent time discussing various schedules, responsibilities, filling out paperwork, and experiencing God through a variety of means.
As for actual training: Thursday we had a 3 hour workshop on "Balance and Crisis". We learned how to respond to a person in crisis, whether they are very aggressive or very passive. We studied and practiced a variety of techniques to use in those situations. On Friday we had a two hour session on "Business Management" where we discussed how to maintain the finances of the house we are living in. We also spent an hour studying the governing structures of the Covenant House, as its important to know and understand the policies and structure of the organization we are serving with. Saturday was a busy day. In the morning we had a 3 hour workshop on "Gang Awareness" with a very charismatic and passionate police officer from Rochester, NY. We learned about the origin and culture of gangs, how to recognize gang hand signs, tattoos or graffiti, and how to interact with a member. In the afternoon we had a 4 and a half hour workshop on "Active Listening". Part of our responsibilities will be to develope a resource file for kids that arrive, so we need to be able to converse with them in a non-threatening, productive way. We also need to be aware of physical and verbal cues to help us understand and diagnose issues that the child may have.
This just highlights some of the things we've been learning about over the past few days. As you can see, we've been busy. Today and tomorrow are free days for us. I'm waiting for a few friends to get ready to go with me to church. Since I'm only here for two months I don't plan to attempt to settle into a church, rather I will be exploring many different types of churches around the city. Hopefully I will have some good reflections on those.
The next reflection will describe some of the fun we've been having. Till then, peace!