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.
