Illinois!

On the 10th of May, the President signed a federal disaster declaration for several counties in the state of Illinois. Three days later, my team piled into our vans and headed north to Chicago eager to finally put all of our training to use.

During the month of April, many parts of Illinois were inundated with heavy rainfall and flooding. Our task is to canvass effected neighborhoods and help people get registered for federal assistance. The challenge is that this is a massive area with a massive number of workers employed by a massive entity. And we're implementing a new program. And Americorps hasn't worked out all the kinks yet. In a word, I've been frustrated, but I'm trying to stay positive.

Do I feel like I've helped some people? Yes. Do I feel like this is my calling? Not really.

I am confident that even challenging situations can teach a person and can be essential and beneficial. I am learning things about myself that will hopefully lead me to a calling and make me better prepared for that work once I find it.

This program is hard. It is harder than I expected in different ways than I expected. There are days when I question what good I am doing even being here, but...

There has to be a But. I would love prayers as I try to find the But during the next several weeks and months.