"We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves." -Lynn Hall

"No one is this happy in Michigan...." My friend Mary said after watching videos from my summer job in Dallas. I learned this sad fact a year ago when I returned to Grand Rapids after spending ten weeks working for Project Transformation. 

Getting back to Michigan, returning to college life, to the everyday routines and obligations, a close friend of mine pointed out how childish I had become. Within the course of the last three months, I have surrounded myself with people that have not only made me feel younger, but have caused me to act younger as well. I'm having a difficult time balancing the art of keeping a child's like heart while continuing to grow up. 


On my journey the past three weeks after Urban Camp has ended, I have developed the skill of being able to feel at home in any place I stay. My couch hopping and road tripping across the country has helped sink in the fact that an idea of a "home" can be anywhere, as long as it's felt within your heart. And let me tell you, this summer, I've learned how to be at peace with myself, and the relationships I've built recently have been directly affected by that. 

The high school LITES at Oak Cliff have unknowingly helped me adjust to who I have become. They've taught me that love is everywhere, all the time, and all you have to do is open your eyes to it. My friends this summer have shown me that even though we're all in transitional places and change is ever beckoning, there's always people that will go through it with you, and meet you right where you need to be. Now, as difficult as it is to start acting like a senior in college with faded purple and blue dye in your hair, it's time to take this last year of schooling for all it's worth and it's time to start using my own two feet to take me as far as they can. One of my very intelligent LITES, Blanca, who also dyed her hair, wrote this after leaving camp a few weeks ago; "I slowly opened up and like my hair, the color stayed, the interns, the kids, the LITES stayed in me."

Moving away from Dallas, away from all the friendships that completely consume my heart, away from these absolutely amazingly talented, loving, accepting, God seeking high school students that I've grown so close to, I'm realizing for the first time, that moving doesn't mean leaving. I am not leaving these kids. I am not leaving my friends. Project Transformation has taught me, above all, how to love like Jesus did, and He would not have let a love like this die or be forgotten. So as much of a challenge as it is going to be for my "out of sight, out of mind" way of life that I've gone by for the last twenty-one years, I am going to do everything in my power to keep them strong.

As much as my kids and I have joked about the page in The Giving Tree that says, "And the tree was happy... but not really," that isn't the end of the story. This tree effortlessly gave everything it had for the little boy, even when the tree knew the boy would leave without promise of returning. Jesus did this same thing for us, when He gave up everything He could, including His life, to show us how immensely He loves us. That boy kept coming back to the tree until he was an old man. And as many times as we may turn away from God, He will always stand there, strong and willing to help every time we're in need. Sure, the tree was sad every time he left, but that boy kept coming back to where he felt loved, and at home. The last pages of this book don't say, "...but not really." The last pages of this book say, "And the tree was happy." Because if we haven't all heard it enough before, everything will be alright in the end, and if it's not, it's not the end. 

With the end of the summer come and gone, I can freely say, I am happy. I am blessed. I am loved. 

Listen to this --> Homesick by MercyMe. :)

"What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it."

The green carpet of that humid library rubbed against my calves as I sat on the floor, laughing so hard it brought tears to my eyes. There I sat, surrounded by my LITES who were strumming guitars, re-writing song lyrics, painting banners, and cutting construction paper. I felt myself mentally retreat from that moment, realizing the impact it was having on me as it happened. Seeing their smiling faces, watching them radiate with God's beauty, it once again hit me how painful it is going to be when August third rolls around.

There have been multiple LITES that I've grown close with through the course of the last four weeks. One of whom that I met last summer through other interns said something to me that caught me off guard. He had grown up with Project Transformation and is very familiar with the program and how things should be. Although he has been to Oak Cliff to volunteer in the past, he is a regular at a different church that hosts the Project Transformation day camp. We were talking one day about his thoughts and perceptions of this summer when he commented on the way I run the LITE program at Oak Cliff. He was trying to describe the difference he'd seen so far, and mid-sentence he looked at me and said, "You make it feel like home." I was completely speechless as all I could do was smile.

The kids I've met this summer, the people I spend my days with, have become exactly that... a family to me. I love them endlessly, whether they're texting while I'm giving instructions, or cracking jokes at the way my Michigan accent sounds, these kids have accepted me and welcomed me into their lives, and for that I will be forever grateful. Each and every one of them has a story, whether it's full of hardship and oppression or love and opportunity, these kids are nothing but beautiful, capable, real fighters, who will do whatever it takes to make their mark.

Here's a video of what they're saying about their experiences and a little glimpse into the passionate kids they really are.

From knowing them, spending time with them, and talking to them, I have learned so much about who God is and what our purpose as people needs to be. Although they may only be L.I.T.E.S now, these kids are destined for so much greatness in their future and I am already beginning to see how they light the dark of this troubled world.

Listen to this --> You Love Me Anyway by Sidewalk Prophets

"When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2

During the church sermon a few weeks ago at Oak Cliff United Methodist Church, it really hit me. I will never go back to that house I grew up in. That house is no longer mine to call home. As long as I have waited for this exact moment, there is something so bittersweet about it that brought me to tears. I've been through hardships, triumphs, heartbreak, healing and growth in that house. From second grade until senior year of college, it has supported my family and I through some of our darkest, as well as our brightest moments.

Day after day I spend here in Dallas, my sadness for losing that house seems less severe. Bonding with the interns at Project Transformation, learning more about the city, and feeling really and truly at home at Oak Cliff UMC, I miss that house less and less. The more time I spend here, and the more people I meet, opportunities I take, the more I can see myself building a life here.

My first week here was full of frustration, fun, and facing fears, all in our intensive training schedule. But at the end of that seven days, when all was said and done, I found myself at the North Texas Annual Conference with 90 other interns, balling my eyes out at the raw beauty of the choir, the preacher, and this life I get to live.
As the past few weeks have gone by, meeting and growing close to the kids at Oak Cliff, I feel as though that last day of Urban Camp at the end of the summer is already in sight, and that absolutely breaks my heart. This year, I have a real group of kids to grow close with and to see everyday instead of only seeing the same faces once a week. Not only do I get the opportunity to be with the same kids, but these aren't just any kids. I get the immense privilege of working with the L.I.T.E. (Leaders In Training Experience) program, which are high school aged youth that come back after completing the program (or sometimes just hearing about it from a friend) and volunteering day after day with us.

My days are broken down differently from last year, my team has a entirely new dynamic, and after these first three weeks of site, my life has forever been altered by these kids. I knew working with high schoolers would be a new and foreign experience for me, just as mountain biking with middle schoolers was new last year, but this has exceeded any and all expectations I had predetermined for this summer. Most sites across Dallas average around 8 to 10 LITES a day, depending on the location and population of that area, but at Oak Cliff United Methodist Church, I proudly get to work with 22 high school volunteers every day.

I have already cried at site, thinking of how blessed I am to have met these LITES, and they have already started talking about how much they will miss sharing their days together at Oak Cliff as well as with each other. From being called "Miss Kristen" by the elementary aged children to "Mama Kristen" by the senior high kids, I can feel myself being called to the kids in Dallas. In the wise words of one of the staff at United Methodist Reporter Communications, I have found what I'm passionate about and who I want to surround myself with, now all there is left to do is run towards it.

Listen to this --> We Are by Kari Jobe :)

“If peace comes from seeing the whole, then misery stems from loss of perspective.”

Words cannot describe the last week of my life. I've driven across the country with my best friend, and had more memorable and real experiences than I have over the entire last semester. It really goes to show what a change of scenery can do.

Laying in my sleeping bag Tuesday night, all I could think was that everything outside that tent was either mountains, trees or sky. But as amazing as the scenery, the hikes, the views and the serenity were, it was still nothing compared to being able to spend time with two of my very best friends. Being reunited with these girls, the ones I grew up with, the two girls who know my heart, who know where I came from, was one of the biggest blessings I have had all year.

The day before I left for my road trip, I got a call from my grandmother. She warned me about the roads in Colorado, and to drive carefully because it takes experience to understand how to navigate them safely. Now, on Corinne &I's twenty hour drive to Boulder, we experienced no such thing. Iowa and Nebraska were flat, and even into Boulder was less than hilly. Then when we drove from Boulder to Snowmass Village, the ups and downs of Aspen had four lanes each way and a 75mph speed limit! However, that phone call full of advice came in handy last Saturday morning when I started my journey towards Kansas, the wisdom from that phone call saved my life. 

From the moment I left the city, mountains it was. It was everything I imagined I'd be scared of from the one car wide winding roads and tight corners to the five thousand foot drop just inches from my tires. As terrifying as it was, my eyes were pealed and I grinned from ear to ear the entire time. The first six of twelve hours of that drive was the most beautiful and captivating area I had ever been. I stopped at least once an hour to stop and breathe the mountain air, take pictures, and even squirm my toes in the sand. 

Driving to Kansas and spending a few days relaxing, catching up, and spending quality time with two of my close friends from Project Transformation was exactly what I needed to put me in the mood and get me excited for all this summer has to offer. From riding in the bed of a pick-up across a field, staying up until four a.m. talking, Christ-centered bonfire conversations, to our non-stop eating, everything about these girls prepares me for the many many adventures our futures hold!

If this isn't a blessed life, I'm not at all sure what is. 

p.s. here's my address for those of you who asked for it!

Kristen Singletary

c/o Project Transformation

547 E. Jefferson Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75203

Listen to this: Don't Miss Your Life by Phil Vassar :)

"Greater things have yet to come."

A year has passed since I got the internship with Project Transformation and nothing has been the same in my life since then. This is one of the biggest blessings I have experienced and I am honored to have another chance to get to work for this organization. 

Two more college semesters have passed, and in the blink of an eye. I truly don't know where the time has gone but when it brings me closer to being back in Dallas, I have no objection. 24 hours from now, I will begin my journey across the country until my internship starts in almost two weeks! 

As excited as I am to start working again, to hang out with the kids, and to meet more God-filled students, I have so much planned within the next few weeks, I can't get past what even tomorrow holds for me :) I was explaining to someone earlier today about what I'm up to these days, and all I could say was that I am living the dream. Tomorrow night, a high-school best friend and I are loading up my car, and road-tripping to Boulder, Colorado to see our other best-friend who goes to school there. Backpacking and sight-seeing for the week, until making our way to Snowmass Village, right outside Aspen, where I'm dropping my Michigan friend off at her summer job!

After spending the week with two of my most favorite people on the planet, I'm driving myself over to Kansas, where I will spend the night with a few other of my favorite people before heading down to Texas the week following. What took me two hours by plane last year at this time, is taking me two weeks, but two weeks well spent. 

Right now, I'm praying for Dallas. I'm praying for all of the hundred interns that will be joining me on this adventure filled summer. I am so excited to see what God has in store for these kids, and our lives within the next three months. I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to serve in the city where I left my heart last August. Please pray for safe travels for myself, as well as everyone who is driving or flying anywhere this summer.

Listen to this --> Your Love by Brandon Heath :)