Final Reflection Paper

I would have to say that every activity I was lucky enough to be involved in this summer, I took at least one thing if not more away from it. Leading Sunday School for the Senior High was an interesting challenge, especially the first time since I had read the wrong chapter in advance. Lucky for me, I faked it till I made it and got away with it. It taught me to relax and be able to laugh at myself. The next two times I was up front, I just had conversations with the kids and played around with it. I was open with them and a few were open back with me. Speaking in front of them in a way prepared me to speak in front of the younger ones at camp every night. I was honest and was able to relax. My pastor even told me after hearing me speak the last night that I had a gift. I was surprised. Speaking is not one of my strong points, so I felt really encouraged by that. It was a great way to end my summer and I feel a lot more confident going into this year at school and having to speak in front of people. Then there was my mission’s trip. Every mission’s trip that I go on, I always take so much away from it, and it’s never really the same thing. This year, God really broke my heart through the people we interacted with everyday, and also through our kids that went. The whole week I had 1 Cor. 13:8 written on my hand to remind me of how much God loves me and how powerful that love is; how He calls us to love others as well. The more I interacted with the kids on the trip, the more I feel comfortable in being able to understand them a little bit and be real with them. Being able to have connections with kids that age are so important. This mission’s trip taught me a lot about being available to kids and being totally honest with them and letting them know that I can be a person they can go to for whatever.

Meeting with my supervisor was always a good time. He’s been my youth pastor for five years and I’m very close with him and his wife. Our meetings usually consisted of me going over to his house after church and eating lunch. It was very productive. A lot of the times, we discussed life in general. Things like how I was doing, what was new, how I felt my internship was going. We would also talk about upcoming activities I would be doing. We talked a lot about the mission’s trip during the days leading up to it. Neither of us was sure what to expect, so we discussed the kids and who was going. When I told him about how I didn’t have any kids at Jr. High youth group, he said he wasn’t too surprised because it was the summer and everyone was involved in sports and going on vacation. That made me feel a little better. He really helped me out in the days leading up to my talks at camp. He asked me how my planning was coming and I told him what I was going to speak on each night. Then he helped me narrow my talks down and really focus in on one thing each night and told me to keep it simple because they are young.

I would like to think that I have grown a lot this past summer. I really saw the need to do daily devotionals after my missions trip and I have been encouraged to much by the people I have been sharing my stories with about this summer. God blessed me with such supportive family members and friends and I have learned to appreciate them more through all my experiences. I learned that I can speak in front of young kids and adults and do it with confidence. It just takes a little planning and being able to relax and focus on the Lord. I learned that as long as I put God first and put my faith in Him, it will all come right in the end. This summer had really stretched me in some ways and taken me out of my comfort zone, but I gained so much by doing it all.

10th Post

This is my last post. I'm all finished up for the summer with my youth group, they'll be starting back at school soon. This past week has been a tough one for me. The Lord put me through a lot, but I made it out and gained a lot from it. The talks went great. After the first night, I really loosened up and became as comfortable as I could have gotten with middle schoolers. I feel more at home with high schoolers, I always have, I feel I relate better to them. So having to stand infront of middle school kids and talk to them everynight for ten minutes or so was a somewhat daunting task, but God got me through it. They seemed to respond to me, and I was able to keep their attention. The great thing about kids at that age is that you never know if you really got through to them, and if you did, when it will really hit them. It's kinda funny to watch. Most of them don't have a care in the world except for when the next activity is and if they get to be with their friends or not. The last night, my leader neglected to tell me that in addition to parents being there, the church members were invited to come and eat and then stick around for vespers to hear me talk. I was not o.k. with this at first, but then I just decided to go with it. It ended up raining and we had to go to the pavilion, so it was hard for everyone to hear me over the rain on the metal roof, but everyone seemed really pleased with what I had to say to the kids and my pastor told me I had a gift, although I think he was just being nice, but it did make me feel more confident about my speaking abilities.
At the beginning of the week, I had no idea what I was going to say to the kids and no confidence in myself. With the idea in my mind that they were going to eat me alive, I prayed to God that it would be His words and not my own that everyone would hear and that I would bring glory to His name. I know I had several people praying for me, and by the last night, I had a peace about it all. The kids were great, even on the canoe trip I partook in. I had a lot of fun and learned more about what younger kids react to in comparison with high school kids. This summer had been great and I have learned a lot through this practicum experience. I hope I can continue to volunteer at my youth group out at school when I get back so I can continue my learning further.

9th Post

Not much going on here in Ohio. Fair week is over and life is returning back to normal. Most of the kids are getting ready for school that starts in a few weeks. I have been working on my talks for camp next week. I met with the lady who is organizing camp yesterday and we went to the camp to wander around and scope out places for worship every night. She told me that the two leading songs have some great songs they found to go along with my talk each night, so I think that will be good. I know everything will come together, but I need to stay focused. I've been keeping on top of my devotionals, and it's getting easier to stick with it everyday. As I get further into it, more things keep opening up to me. I really enjoy my time I get to spend in the word everyday.

8th Post

Let me first just say that this past week, I have been a great procrastinator, and my blog has fell victim to that. Not too much is going on here in Ohio. Mainly, I've just been sharing my missions experience with others. My youth pastor is out of town for 2 weeks, so what I'm doing now is getting geared up to speak at camp. This task has also fell victim to that procrastination I've done. I did spend some time with high school friends at the fair this week. Life in South Charleston stops during the fair week, so if you want to have hang out time with anyone, you have to go to the fair. But I can't complain, I go and get my fair food and see people I know and then I head home.
I talked with one of the parents who's daughter went on the missions trip and she had nothing but good things to say. That was really encouraging to know that that week we spent in TN was really beneficial to her and that her mom was so thrilled about it. I've had a chance to talk to some of the other kids who went to. I'm continuing to pray for one girl. She's decided to go to therapy because she has some things in her past that she needs to let go of and some issues that she needs to face in her present life. I've just been encouraging her with it and I'm glad to see that she is seeking help.
I'm still keeping up with my daily devotions but I'm still trying to work out a time to really sit and pray over things everyday. I'm getting there though. I'm determined to keep this up even when I transition back to school. That's it for now.

6th & 7th Post

Wow. umm, where do I even begin. I'm not really sure.
I'll start by saying thanks for the prayers. God kept us all safe, especially during driving. There were definitely a few close calls while we were down there, but God had his hands on us the entire time.
The week was just great. I wasn't ready to come home really, and I'm still not wanted to be back here. Most of the activities we had to do (work at a food bank, go to a nursing home, go to a homeless shelter and do their worship service-which was an experience in and of itself, and other things) were very rewarding, but even doing all those things, it was never about making ourselves feel better. The entire week I had 1 Cor. 13:8 written on my hand reminding myself to love God's people and love them unconditionally. I saw need like I had never seen before, and I felt closer to the Lord then I have felt in awhile. I confessed that I had not been praying and seeking Him out as much as I should. I've got a devotional that I've been using since I've been home, and I'm working on my prayer life, but it's a difficult process for me. It was hard for me going into the week knowing that I was in a leadership position and feeling somewhat spiritually drained, but going on that trip was the best thing that I could've done and I wouldn't trade any of the kids that went with us either. Every night, one of the kids gave their testimonies and every night, my heart hurt for them. I would have never imagined in a million years that out of the 12 kids that came with us, there were stories that ranged from drugs, alcohol, serious depression, death, and eating disorders. But after it was over, I praised God that all of them were sitting in front of me knowing that Jesus loved them no matter what they had been through in the past. All I can say is God is good. I could write tons more about my week and what we did and who we did it with and how each one of us was effected, but I'd rather answer questions in person about it. So, that's all for now. I'm moving onto the next thing which is figuring out my talks for three nights at the Pioneer Club Camp coming up in a few weeks. Prayers for that. Until next week.

5th post

So this will be the last time i write for a few weeks. We are heading out on our mission's trip to Tenn. on Sunday. I'm excited about what God has for us and to get to know these kids. I'm a little unsure about driving though. I just want to make sure these kids are safe, so if there is any prayers i need, it's for safty driving down and back.
There was no turn out for Bible study again this week. When I got there, there were several kids in at Gilberts which was encouraging, but as soon as we told them it was time to close up and asked if anyone was staying for Bible study, it seemed like they all ran out the door :) Oh well, I think that we are gonna scratch the rest of them since we don't have a turn out. I'm a little dissapointed, but I only was scheduled to do one more anyways. Oh the other hand, Sunday school went well this week I thought. I didn't have as many kids, but I had a few I didn't last week and they were two girls I knew, so they helped out with the disscussion a bit. I actually took a passage that we broke down in inductive this past semester and had the class analyze it and I think it went over pretty well. If it wasn't for one or two girls in there who participate and talk more than the others, there would be much said, so I thank God that he's put those kids in my class.
Well that's all from here, be thining about me this week as we are on our trip. There are 12 kids and two leaders ( including myself ) Prayers for you tj, love ya!!! byes.

4th Post

Hello again from Oh-io. So, last Sunday, I taught Sunday School for the first time ever. It was interesting. First off, I read the wrong chapter in preparation. So, that was fun. But on the bright side, I already know what I'm doing for this week's Sunday School :) It didn't go as badly as a imagined. God was definitely with me because when I was infront of all the kids (we have a decent number, so far all girls except for 1) I was not nervous at all. I was honest with them and I told them I had read the wrong chapter, but we'd get through it together. They didn't talk as much, and really aren't as interactive as I'd like, but I think they'll warm up to me. I made them laugh a few times at me with some comments I made, so that's a good sign. At times though I felt like I was boring them, which is one thing I dread. I'm not gonna kill myself to entertain them, but if they aren't bored, then they will add to the class a little more. That's my goal this week is to think of some way to make it a little more interesting.
I have Jr. High Bible study again tonight, maybe some kids will show up this time. It's hard to stay motivated when you don't have any kids wanting to be there. I think that we just might need to get the word out a little more.
The mission's trip is sneaking up on me. It's gonna be a crazy few days leading up to it. We have a meeting on Sunday night that will be pretty informational. I'm not crazy about having to drive down there, but I'm keeping it in my prayers. Well, that's all from here. Peace.

3rd Post

It's been a slow week. I've had a few meetings. Had one today for the camp I'll be speaking at in August. I worked out what I'm planning on speaking about. The theme is Road Trip, so I'm going to follow Jesus around to a different place every night at hit on some key points. So we had out meeting and I told them my plans. We talked about some craft ideas we could do with the kids and how we want to do their quiet time in the morning. Then tonight I had to go into Gilbert's again for Jr. High hang out time. There were still not many kids. A mom who lives across the street brought her daughter who's in 7th grade over. They just moved and the poor kid is extremely shy. So that was good. I was suppose to lead the Bible study for tonight, but none of the kids stayed, so ya. I'm ok with it. Slightly dissapointed cause I had it all planned out and interested to see how they reacted to me, but I know it's summer and I shouldn't be disscouraged. I have to teach Sunday school this coming Sunday, so I'm sure there will be some highschoolers there. Other than that, nothing too exciting. Oh we did have a meeting for the Mission's trip this week too. We didn't really do anything. Just did some stuff at Gilbert's for an hour. I'm ready to go on that trip. Get in some good one-on-one time with the girls. Oh and I went and ran with the cross country team this week too. I'm super sore, but i'm helping out the coach cause he's got a lot of girls and wants me to come along in case anything happens. So, it's a chance to hang out with some high school girls and connect with them a little. Well that's about it. Later.

2nd Post

This past week has been a busy one for me. I've gone to several meetings and have a definite schedule for what I'm going to be taking on the rest of the summer. I had a youth committee meeting last Thurs. which was very informative. I mostly sat and listened and added some input, but it was good to see how the inner workings of the youth program works in a church, or at least my church. They decided that they want me to speak at the 5-8th grader camp at the end of the summer, so I'll be giving about a 10-15 talk for three nights. I had a meeting for that and we just discussed basics and how camp usually runs. The theme this year is road trip, so I have to come up with a series of talks to go off of that. I think that I'm going to do a "follow Jesus around" thing ending with the salvation talk and the Road to Emmaus. I need to put a lot a lot more work into it, but I'm excited about that.

Tonight I had my first work night in at our youth building. Jr. High and High school were there from 6-8. There were not many kids at all, so I felt kinda useless, but I was told that many nights they have 30-40 kids, so I'm hoping it picks up by the time I go back in again. I think I'm also going to be running at least one day a week with the cross country team around town. I guess there are about 12 girls and it is a great chance to get to know them. Not so excited about the running mileage thing, but I'll get over it. :)

That's all from here.

Summer Practicum - 1st Post

Ok Tyler Jay, this is for you. :)

So I am offically an intern for church now. Session approved me 2 days ago. I haven't done too much yet. I have gone to some meetings for the missions trip I'll be leading. We are going to TN. It's called a mystery trip, which means that the kids won't know what they will be doing from day to day. We get to camp out all week and we are going rock climbing on our day off. I'm really excited about it. It's gonna be a great time. I played in a golf outing yesterday for Young Life. It was 54 holes!! But, I made it through somehow. It was fun and we raised a good amount of money. I'm going to be teaching a few lessons for summer Sunday school for high school, so that should be interesting. There is also talk of me speaking a few nights at a grade school summer camp in august. Not sure what all that means, but I'm going to talk to Parker tomorrow cause we have another meeting for missions. Well that is about it for now. Talk to you soon.