It’s the temporary end…

… of an amazing job experience at the Cafe n’ Creamery. I don’t intend to never return, and thankfully everyone I’ve worked with said that they’d be sad if I didn’t come back… so… future summers and breaks, I’ve got a job! =D I can’t but praise God for the provision of such a great opportunity; being able to work with people in rough neighborhoods, working with Christians who care about their community, working in a cafe/coffee-type shop (something I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do)… it’s all a huge, huge blessing that my heart is so grateful for. God definitely saw my need and provided. The pay may not have been all to be desired, but it was something, right? AND I got to minister (something I wanted to do this summer), as well as gain valuable experience in the coffee-making business (which is a HUGE boost for me if/when I go to find jobs at other coffee shops.. which opens even more windows of ministry!!) Isn’t it EXCITING?! I am so pumped about life right now. I’m in the middle of writing  a post about the recent retreat I went on, but I decided, in honor of my last day at the cafe, I’d write a blog about my experiences and such there. It suits the event well.

Anyways… so.. where do I begin?!

Craigslist. You know, I never thought that I’d actually ever get a legit job through craigslist. The website is usually used to find furniture, pets, people to hook up with. It is crawling with creepers, I’m sure, and it has an endless supply of repeated job listings. There’ve been a few that I’ve pursued (or… I should say MANY), but they all fell through, one way or another. I was told that them posting a listing on that website was a last resort kinda thing… they were in need of a few extra employees. I responded, not thinking that anything would come of it, but.. what do you know?! I got an interview. and… like.. two weeks later a second one. Then I was hired. By then it was about the middle of June or so. The waiting process was kind of stressful, because once I’d gotten the interview, I’d lost the motivation to pursue other places in case the cafe didn’t work out. I’d put all my hopes on that place because I felt like that was where I was supposed to be. Maybe that wasn’t the wisest idea, but thankfully it did end up working out absolutely brilliantly. There were some challenges along the short road, though. Even though the place was literally a three minute drive from my house, I ended up arriving late a time or so… and thus incurred the unhappiness of a co-worker and supervisor. I HATE disappointing people… absolutely hate it, so you can imagine, I felt awful after that. A good thing about working with practicing Christians, though? They don’t stay mad. Relationship was restored and all went on as well as normal. I love my co-workers… especially Joel. He’s just a sweet, sweet guy whose got such a heart for ministry and the kids that come through… it’s inspiring. When he gets to talking about me setting up a new standard in cleaning… I’m impressed by his humility. He’s got a rough background, but you know what? Knowing that and seeing him where he is today just further gives me Joy knowing that God’s love and His salvation really DOES change peoples lives. A full 180˚ turnabout.

I wrestled with learning the ropes, obviously. Never having been in the barista business, it was intimidating to be required to learn all the different types of coffee… WHY they’re different; learning the proportions of small, medium, and large cups, getting accustomed to being aware of low stock ALL. the. time, and greeting people with a friendly smile, despite the way my day had been going previous to coming into work. I guess this whole experience was a good exercise in learning to better depend on God’s grace and support on those tough days, and to relish and share his joy… no matter the kind of day I was having. A servant attitude was definitely sown in my spirit, no doubt. And, probably to my mother’s and anybody else who I may live with for the duration of my life, I learned the value of having an organized work space. I find myself randomly wiping things up or neatening things out now wherever I am because of this job. It’s almost become second nature O_o NOT that I’m going to give up my “organized piles” way of living, but… in general, I’ve developed cleaner house habits. We’ll see how long it lasts now that I won’t be there for awhile.

Something that surprised me about working there was… a language barrier. I didn’t know that there was such a thing as “ghetto speak that Allison can’t understand.” Heck, I’ve grown up in this neighborhood all my life. I hear diverse types of ways of talking. I go to a CHINESE church, after all, and I go to a southern school. How much more complicated can it get? Ahaha… apparently… a bunch more complicated. Thankfully it didn’t happen often. The AC’s were almost always running, which exponentially raised the level of noise going on in the small place. It was hard enough to hear people from behind the counter. And when they were pulling a joke or teasing me about something, not being able to hear it in order to respond appropriately was… relatively inconvenient. Suffice to say, I didn’t expect to run into language barriers in that small Northside cafe. Another exercise in patience and the process of trial-and-error learning! Also, just a side note, I didn’t know just how serious people were when they said that European women don’t shave…. I have been fully convinced now, however, that they do not, in fact, shave their armpits. Therefore, if they do not do that, then their legs are probably untouched… so.. yeah. Just gonna leave it at that.

Anyways, what else can I share about my experience at the Cafe n’ Creamery? Well… I connected with another writer (Joel), I got some good writing done myself, even if it wasn’t work on my book. I met many, many interesting people, who, if I think about it long enough, I could probably develop into characters. Some sweet, old people, some cool cats, nice people, other rougher people. I’ve run into some nasty people, both in spirit and in.. personal hygiene, and I’ve run into Northsiders who DEFINITELY looked, acted, and sounded like Northsiders. Ahaha.. I love it. I loved the time I had there, and I do hope that I can go back during breaks. No.. I don’t hope, I plan to, if that’s indeed where God’s wanting me.

Oh, and before I forget, I ended up training the new guy they hired today. Yeah.. I was training someone. O_O I didn’t expect to be given the honors of doing that, truly. Especially since I’ve only been working there a whole… two months. Joel had a lot to do with it, actually… him and his match-making. It makes me laugh, though! Ahahhaa… wow yeah. He’s a nice fellow… 4 years older than me. An artist too. Hey.. Charlotte, if you’re reading this, maybe you should stop in more frequently to catch his shifts, eh? Oh wait no… she’s going away to college too. Shoot. Okay. Well… haha. He’s cool. Pretty quiet though.. a lot like me. Strangely, though, I felt like I was talking him over sometimes. Who would’ve thought that there was someone that made me feel like I was the one being loud. Funny.

Gosh, there’ve been so many good times at the cafe. There has hardly been a day working there that was bad or unpleasant. A couple unpleasant people may have come in, but you know… memory of them often fades more quickly than the ones of the people which treat others with at least a little bit of respect. I’ve had some time to think while I was there during those down times when I’d have maybe two customers in an hour and a half; I got to write many, many, many pages which tracked my thoughts… which, just to note, the evolution of brain trails is actually kind of interesting. Welllll…. that’s all that’s come to my brain concerning the cafe. Other things have been taking my thoughts captive, things that either time or more thought (or both) will solve. Things that may not ever be completely solved in my entire life. Things are changing for me and for countless other people I know. New experiences and responsibility lay ahead; new life challenges that will either grow us or tear us down, spiritual battles that might leave us hanging by a thread of leaping for joy in the mercy of our Saviour. Who can know what lies ahead? I do know one thing, though:

God is in control, and through that control He desires to bring the greatest amount of blessing to my life as He wills. I just need to move my Self out of the way and let Him work. Thank God for His patience and mercy! =)

Peace.

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