A Note From Mary

Dear Headlights people,
I am so excited for you! Headlights is such a great oppurtunity to learn about others, and in the process, perhaps, a bit about yourself. Come with an open mind and heart, ready like a bone-dry sponge to absorb all that you will experience. Don’t undervalue a single moment of your week, from the moment you gather in the parking lot to the day you finally recover from your service-week sleep deprivation. Rather be the sponge and listen, absorb all the experiences around you, for the Lord has an uncanny way of speaking in the most obscure and unexpected ways. Expect to grow and to be challenged, to experience amazing witnesses of service and hope in the midst of struggle and perhaps despair. Expect to come home different, and know that your experience will continue to germinate for many days, and even years, as you ponder what you have seen and heard and touched. When I was in Cincinnatti, it was a peanut butter banana sandwich (which I highly recommend as a headlights staple to give you the energy to serve well) that challenged me to deeply examine my relationship to those in poverty, and authentically question the manner in which I should serve them. (Give me a call if you want to hear the whole story…or ask Colleen 🙂
To speak simply, expect that the Lord has great things to teach you, and that he loves to teach us through the most unexpected means. So don’t try to expect what is entirely unpredictable, but be the sponge, ready to soak up every experience. You will be in my prayers this week!
-Mary Woelkers, headlights in spring 2009

Words to live by on headlights (and always!)
We can do no great things, only small things with great love. -Mother Teresa