Kelly Cefalu
The who, what, when, where, why
Who?
For those of you who don’t know me, I am Kelly Cefalu. I love dark chocolate, pomegranates, drinking tea, riding my bike, and recycling. My fingernails are often painted lime green. I love the smell of the beach and digging for sand crabs. I could spend hours on the swings. I can be patient and quiet, and I can also get quite passionate about issues/topics/flavors of ice cream.
As for the other vital stats, I graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2008 with a degree in history (specifically Latin American and Native American). After graduation I spent a few weeks traveling in Europe with one of my best friends, followed by 3 months living in a poor part of Quito, Ecuador volunteering with a small local organization called UBECI. For the past 7 months I have been enjoying living with my family in Sunnyvale, CA, making some money babysitting/house-sitting/dog-sitting (although not actually sitting very often), volunteering with my church’s high school youth group, reading, and spending time with people I love.
What am I doing?
Mission Year is a faith based service organization dedicated to mobilizing young Christians to give a year of serving the urban poor as neighbors (learn more at www.missionyear.org).
When?
Beginning later in August, 2009 through August 1, 2010.
Where?
I’ll let you know when I find out but the cities Mission Year places teams in are scattered around the country (although none of them are located in my home state of California).
Why?
To that I respond, why not?
I had no real plans for the next year (or any year) of my life and I was eager for an opportunity to simplify my life and deepen my faith through service and community. Everything I was reading, conversations I was having, sermons I heard seemed to line up when I visited Mission Year’s website for the first time.
As I learned more about Mission Year, I felt more and more certain that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing right now. Mission Year’s integrity as a faith based organization inspired me and it often seemed as if someone had transcribed my thoughts. For example, the Mission Year “basics,” as they call them, are community service, church partnership, relational impact, justice, christian community, and personal discipleship. If you know me well, hopefully you can see why I was excited about the opportunity to participate.
One thing I want to make clear as to why I am doing this: this is not a year of volunteering before I start my “real” life. This is training and preparation for the missional lifestyle I hope to maintain for the duration of my life. The commitment to God, service, justice, relationships, and community is a lifelong commitment.
Over the next 12 months I will do my best to update this blog with stories, moments to share, prayer requests, and general info about how me and my team are doing. Unfortunately I won’t have much time to keep in touch on an individual basis, but please feel free to email me and keep up with the blog!
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Kelly Cefalu's Blog
How to find the motivation / Feb 8, 11:29 PM
I have not blogged in a long time. I have been distracted and tired and sort of waiting for something profound to write about. But this will have to do.
As the second trimester of Mission year began (I can’t quite say it is beginning still because we have been here for a month now), we talked a lot about the fact that this trimester is a long one. The newness has worn off, there is no big light at the end of the tunnel yet (no long break or summer/end of the year excitement). There is just us, me and the 5 people I live with. Just us living in our neighborhood, working all week and sleeping all Sabbath. There is just us and cold, dreary winter weather (I am definitely not in Sunnyvale anymore). How do we find motivation? How we we remember why we are here when we are tired and annoyed with our team mates and sick? (right now I feel pretty crappy with a headache and a cold, and please note that I am often very happy and excited to be here and in love with my team… but not always).
I have found the answer to this question of motivation in sometimes the most obvious places, and other times the answer has found me when I least expected it.
Part of the answer has been learning to be motivated and energized by small moments of joy and love. Last week I showed the kids how to make bug catchers and we ran around a park at the afterschool program hunting for spiders and bugs. It was awesome. Recently I have had some late night convos with a team mate who, at the beginning of the year, I would have never thought we would get along. I am amazed in those moments of what God can do and why I decided to participate in a community that I had no say in choosing. Sometimes it is as simple as a smile from a child, a really good breakfast, a good hair day, or an encouraging text message from a friend. We do not often get those big, mountain top moments but we do often get whispers of peace and moments of joy in a busy day.
Another part of the answer has been in the quiet moments I have with my Savior when He meets me in the midst of my exhaustion and frustration. Last Wednesday I felt sick and tired and frustrated and cold. I had tried to have a quiet time in the morning but it felt unproductive. Then I opened up a book my friend had let me borrow several months ago, but I hadn’t opened it since last year. One of the first things I read was this:
“My hour in the Carmelite chapel is more important that I can fully know myself. It is not an hour of deep prayer, nor a time in which I experience a special closeness to God; it is not a period of serious attentiveness to the divine mysteries. I wish it were! On the contrary, it is full of distractions, inner restlessness, sleepiness, confusion, and boredom. It seldom, if ever, pleases my senses. But the simple fact of being for one hour in the presence of the Lord and showing him all that I feel, think, sense, and experience, without trying to hide anything, must please him.” (Henri Nouwen, )
I read this and thought really? It’s ok that I don’t have intense times of prayer and that I’m distracted and tired and everything else while I’m trying to be with God? It’s ok that I’m just me? At some point along this journey of faith someone told me (or I gathered from some source) that “quiet times” were required every day and I should read the Bible and pray and think of only “holy’” things. This would make me a good Christian. And I’m on Mission Year… I have to be a good Christian (really, somewhere in my psyche I believed this). Especially if I’m a team leader. Maybe everyone else already figured this out, but I needed to hear that message from Henri Nouwen. He writes later “God is greater than my senses, greater than my thoughts, greater than my heart.” If I were to try to be anything but exactly what I am when I come to meet God, I would be a fool. And who I am is God’s beloved daughter, wreck that I am.
This realization has allowed me to be more honest with God. And in that honesty I find great peace, which brings me back to answering the question: How to stay motivated? This freedom to find Joy and Love in the small things and to find Peace in just being myself has helped me stay motivated. It helps me to not just get through the day, but to see God work in me and those around me through the day. And that, I believe, is why I’m here, on Earth, in East Point.
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Today's lesson plan: cookies / Nov 25, 11:02 AM
I’ve read several blogs about cookies. There is just something about this activity. I have always firmly believed that cookies came from God. But now I see there is something more, something in the process, the baking, and of course, the eating.
I have to be honest, when I bake cookies I am quite possessive. I get greedy about the last cookie. If I made the cookies, I want to be the one to get that last cookie. I want to make sure I get the most.
The girls I baked with Saturday were quite different. We baked my favorite original chocolate chip cookies. The recipe I’ve had memorized for years. The same cookies that are baked almost weekly in my house back home by either me, my mom, or one of my sisters. This time I baked them with several girls, age 7-11, from the neighborhood. We took turns adding ingredients, stirring, and taste testing. A few of the girls made us a milk drink to have with the cookies. They shared a recipe of theirs that complimented the cookies perfectly. We got flour everywhere and ate a significant portion of the dough. But as soon as the dough was ready, they wanted to share it with their brothers playing outside and the other teachers (as they call my teammates). Then when the cookies were done, they wanted to give them away immediately. Our landlord had been working all day behind our house tearing down an old shed. One of their first thoughts was to give him a cookie. Then they fought over which one of them got to give him the cookie. Later they were concerned about having enough to take home and share with their brothers and sisters.
Why does my heart not incline to generosity like theirs? We have talked a lot this year about how our neighbors will teach us more than we teach them. I also believe that children often teach us more than we realize. This was another instance of both neighbors and children teaching me. I am learning to be a student. To be taught by God through my neighbors, my teammates, my community. There is a lot to learn, and lessons in Love are often the hardest but they are also the best… and can be quite delicious when they involve fresh baked cookies.
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"Can little girls be president?" / Nov 10, 10:00 AM
Tuesday afternoon I was talking to some of the girls in my van as I drove them from school to the church for our afterschool program. One of them asked about signs posted along the sidewalk that were part of a campaign for mayor. When I told her they were for the election that was held today she and her friend followed up with many more questions about city government and voting. I explained that the city officials make important decisions for the city, like the president makes important decisions for the country. Then the seven-year-old girl asked, “Can little girls be president?” I told her that little girls cannot be president while they are little, but when they grow up they can be. To this she responded “That’s not fair! That’s too long!”
My heart smiled at her eagerness and impatience. She wanted her voice to be heard now, she wanted to make a difference now. Why should she have to wait until she’s older? What kind of a president would little Shayla make? I think she would be a great president and I told her this. Then she said she wanted to be an artist. Her friend said she wanted to be a doctor. Their minds changed a few times as we drove, the dreams and possibilities flying through their imaginations. But each time they would choose a new path, they would ask, “Do they make lots of money?” Money is a factor even at seven years old. One girl said she wanted to be an eye doctor because they make lots of money. I explained that one of the great things about being a doctor is that you could travel to places where people need doctors really badly and that you can help people. They both liked that idea and said they would help people.
This whole conversation lasted only a few minutes but I began to think about these girls futures. Will I see Shayla’s name on the ballot someday? Will I read about Abigail working in a medical clinic providing care for the poor? Will they choose money over justice? Wherever they go, will they remember me? Will they remember the afterschool program? I am almost certain they will remember their years as Penguinos, if for no other reason than the field trips and parties, but hopefully for the afterschool program too. My participation in their lives may only last a year, but I’m praying that it’s a good year. I’m praying that God takes these girls and changes the world through them. I’m praying that they know they are so loved and so capable of becoming a president or doctor or whoever they want to become. I’m praying that they know God loves them and that they love him back.
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Focus / Oct 13, 10:01 PM
The weeks have officially started to fly by and I feel like I am out of focus. It has been a whirlwind of joys, struggles, forts, first-graders, family meetings, and Francis Chan (why so many things start with “f” I do not know). I wrote earlier about how I feel like I’m standing within inches of a huge canvas trying to see the painting but only seeing splotches and colors. Well, I’m still only a few inches away but I have a few more snapshots to share with you.
Last week Chelsea and I built a fort in our room. It was fantastic (another “f”). We laid out a blanket, lit some candles, and all huddled in our crowded room that had been transformed into a tent, covered in quilts and blankets overhead. I just love telling people about our fort because it was such a joyful experience. It reminded me of when my sisters and brother and I used to build forts in our living room using couch cushions and blankets. It is something families do. And my team is now my family.
Families also have conflict. And this week we had a family meeting to address some of our conflicts and to give everyone space to say how they felt. After the meeting I felt more at east at home. It was humbling for me as I realize more and more how my actions positively and negatively affect others.
My class of 10 first graders is a big part of my picture these days because I spend so much time with them. Some days they are what fills me and renews me. They can be so cute and cooperative and enthusiastic and funny. Other days I come home and just want to go to bed. I am learning that the techniques I’d been using with youth (primarily high school) don’t work with 6 year olds. At one point I was sitting with them during circle time trying to reason with them about their behavior and suddenly I realized that I was talking to them as if they were 10 years older!
I also want to mention that my morning volunteer sites are wonderful as well. Mondays and Thursdays Kim, Rachael and I have spent our time turning a huge mess of toys into a beautiful toy shop that the Family Life Center is going to use during Christmas time. Tuesday mornings I pick up a van full of moms and kids and drive them to free English classes at a local church. Then I help babysit the kids and translate. Both of these places are far less hectic than afterschool activities can be, and I really enjoy that.
Then there’s Francis Chan, a name you probably didn’t expect to see. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Francis, he is a gifted speaker and pastor of a church in Pasadena. Last night for our training all the Mission Year teams in ATL went to help out at a conference nearby that Francis and many others were speaking at. While we were there we got to hear him speak, and he reminded me to take a step back and remember God. Remember why I am here. Remember that I don’t have to do everything, be everything… in fact, I can’t. I needed that message last night. I needed to stop and reflect and breathe. Even in the midst of the whirl wind of Mission Year and even when I feel like I’m out of focus, God is still God. And that’s what I need to focus on.
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Generosity / Oct 5, 10:03 PM
Last Sunday we were invited to a birthday party for one of our neighbors. It was their son’s 7th birthday and we were excited for the chance to spend time with the family. Not only do all three of their kids attend our afterschool program but Juan was a huge part of fixing our house to make it liveable before we moved in. The smell of barbeque (don’t think southern… think Mexican bbq) drew us in and weather was perfect for a party. Immediately we were being shown around by their youngest daughter who warms our hearts with those big eyes and her cute smile and entertained by their oldest son who makes us laugh with his sense of humor. As the afternoon went on we played soccer, took swings at the pinata, watched the kids swarm as is broke, and enjoyed the company of Juan and his wife along with other friends and family. The whole time we were there I felt more an more blessed by this wonderful family who invited us to celebrate life with them. They fed us an abundant meal that included grilled chicken and beef, home made guacamole, and even grilled cactus (surprisingly good). What struck me most was the way the family shared with us… they gave of themselves and their resources and were so incredibly humble. Meanwhile, I felt like I was constantly having nit-picky conversations about money and being concerned with having enough for myself and my team. We have been blessed by our community and are always eager to receive gifts and blessings, yet how much are we really giving in return? At what point do we stop considering our mere presence a gift to the community and start really becoming equal members of it?
This was my journal entry on Monday. Then Thursday night at our city wide Jeff talked about trusting God and giving even when we feel like we’re at the end of our rope and have nothing to give. It is in those moments when we we feel like we have nothing that God is able to become everything. I am not saying I think we need to spend more money in order to be equal members of our neighborhood, but true community happens when we surrender and recognize that nothing we posess is ours. When we treat our resources, all of them… time, energy, money, stuff, as God’s and use them according to His will and His generosity.
