Week One
Sunday June 10
Our last day of prep was quite crazy. We were behind schedule so Sunday afternoon was spent in fast forward. I have never shopped for 20 people for a whole week before. Shane, Larissa, and I each took a cart and a third of the list. One hour later we had most of the stuff in three carts packed to the brim. I had the third of the list that had all the meat, eggs, and milk. By the end I could barely push my cart around a corner! So much fun. Checking out took another hour and we made friends with the lady at the register. Her name is Deborah and she asked us to find her when we came back. After Walmart we made a quick trip to Lowes and picked up a tarp to split the upstairs hallway in half.
After rushing back to the CYC we had just enough time to get all of the food into the kitchen before the team showed up. Our first youth group showed up in two white vans. There were 13 teenagers and three adults.
The Week
The Work Project
Shane, Larissa, and I picked to begin working on a house that needed siding. The house had metal siding that needed to be stripped and then we had to put new siding up. We weren’t sure what all needed to be done when we started, but we went for it anyway! The students were great. Because we’re trying to develop leaders each day on the work site Shane would divide the group up into teams and place one student in charge of each team. It was quite the experience! It was strange to be on a team led by a student who had never done the task before, or even construction in general! As leaders we are supposed to let the students do everything. We let them make decisions and solve problems. If they have never done something before (like siding the house) we would teach them, and then let them do it. Because I was on a team, whoever the student leader was had to tell me what to do. And even if they gave me a job that was wrong or counterproductive I had to do it anyway. Quite the crazy experience! The program is great though. The students were forced to think on their feet and solve problems that they didn’t think they could solve.
The first task was removing the metal siding. We didn’t give them any ideas about how to do it, but instead turned them loose on the house. They figured it out alright! There was a lot of hammering, cutting, wedging hammers underneath nails, and sweat everywhere, but they got the job done. Was it done in the most effective and time conscious way possible? No. But a lot of good lessons were learned. :) I had a lot of fun working outside and challenging the students. Whenever they ask us a question our response is supposed to be “I don’t know, what do you think?” We say that even though yes we probably do have an answer to their question, but it is not necessarily the best answer and we want them to figure out what they thing. Beware family and friends, by the time I get home at the end of the summer I may have forgotten how to answer questions. :)
Vacation Bible School
Another part of every day is VBS for local kids. The students plan out the VBS before they come so all that has to be done when they get here is to pick up kids, and get going! We spent Monday afternoon passing our flyers and going door to door advertising for VBS, and then on Tuesday it began! We picked up kids from a local neighborhood called a Holler. A Holler is a long skinny neighborhood tucked into the side of a mountain. You turn off the road into the Hollar and drive back into it, sometimes for miles. They are almost completely hidden if you don’t know where they are. The families that live there are generally very poor.
Tuesday VBS began. The kids are so sweet. We had the same 15 there all week. The students on the trip did an incredible job of planning out games, crafts, and even a puppet show for the kids. It was awesome! And better yet, I just got to play with the kids. I wasn’t in charge of anything. A few of my new friends from the Holler are Jada and Jacob, Blake and Blade (identical twins), Hazlyn, Destiny, Jasmine, Micky, Nicky Marie, and Savannah. I will probably be with them all summer so I’m sure you will hear about them again! Feel free to check out my facebook if you want to see some pictures of these precious mini-people.
Morning Devos and Team Time
As I’ve mentioned before, morning devos are a big part of the LT program. Every morning after breakfast we all spent 45 minutes in silence completing a bible study and praying. It is powerful to look around the room at a group of junior high and high school students buried deep in their Bibles. That time made a big impact on a lot of the students and many of them set goals to continue spending time with the Lord every morning. Beautiful.
Team Time is definitely unique. Every evening the group gathers to talk about the day. We start off by discussing things that went well that day. For example, maybe the students did a great job encouraging each other, or something else like that. It is awesome to hear the students pick out the good things in the group. It is even better, however, to hear them voice areas that they know the need to grow. From the ‘Doing Well’ section of the program, we move on to ‘Needs Improvement.’ Some things that came up in Team Time this week were being on time, having good intentional conversations to get to know one another, and searching out jobs on the worksite if you aren’t busy. It is so cool that these students are thinking deeply and working to improve.
Next is Bible study. We go over what we did in morning devos and the students have the opportunity to talk about what they learned, ask questions, and be challenged by the leaders. A lot of really awesome questions and thoughts came out during that time every night. Again, it is incredible to see students grow and be challenged. We had some deep thinkers on the trip this week! Team Time is such a blessing.
Girls Night
At the request of the adult leaders we decided to have a girls and guys night. After bedtime we curled up in our respective rooms and just talked. We opened it up for the students to ask questions. I have no idea how the guys’ talk went (obviously) but the girls had lots of great conversation! They asked lots of good questions and our conversation ranged across lots of aspects of life. We discussed divorce, purity, dating, college, and growing up. That night was a huge blessing to me because I have mistakes in some of those areas and learned a lot. I loved being able to share what I’ve learned and encourage the girls to make right choices. We stayed up pretty late so I was tired the next day, but it was totally worth it.
Meal Time
Another part of the experience is that we let the students take charge of the kitchen. Similar to the worksite, we let them do all the organizing and cooking. If they ask any adult for help that adult would jump in, but whenever they asked a question we make them make a decision. It was quite fun! Some of the students had never cooked before, and they made interesting decisions! An example would be that the morning I was in charge of the breakfast team and we made breakfast burritos. We had eggs, ground sausage, cheese, and salsa. The students that were in charge of the sausage decided to make it into patties instead of just cooking ground sausage. If I was cooking breakfast I would not have made that decision - but they were in charge! So we put sausage patties on our breakfast burritos that morning. So fun! Also on the first night the spaghetti was not stirred enough and part of it was burnt. Also, the end of the box was all cooked together. I have a feeling that throughout the course of the summer I will eat some pretty strange things. Bring it on! :D
Leaders Meetings
Every night after Team Time the adult leaders from the youth group would meet with Shane, Larissa, and I. We had some staff snacks (shh don’t tell the students) and talked about the day. We talked about wins, struggles, how the students were holding up, and how each one of us was doing. It was a good time of fellowship. After that meeting Shane, Larissa, and I would meet. Sometimes we debriefed the day but mostly we just vented frustrations and laughed. By that point in the night we were pretty much slap-happy. We had tons of fun joking around. Staff meetings have been one of my favorite parts of the day. No matter how my day went every night ended with my stomach hurting from laughter. God is so good.
Our First ER Trip
Yesterday on our ‘fun day’ hike one of the students hit her head. Coupled with dehydration she was very weak and felt awful. As soon as we got back to the CYC we took her to the ER. She turned out being just fine, but she took a whole bag of fluids in half an hour. Just to be safe the doctor ordered a CT scan. It was AWESOME!! I was with her the entire time, so I got to go with her to get the scan. I told the technician that I was a first year nursing student who had just taken A&P so he went really slow to explain everything to me. He showed me her brain, skull bones, and her cervical vertebra. SO COOL!! The best part was seeing the atlas and axis (the connection between the vertebrae and the skull) through her face bones. The sinuses were also pretty sweet to see as he scrolled up. WOW! I’m sorry she got hurt, I’m glad she’s ok, but that CT scan was definitely a highlight of my week. :D
What I’m Learning
One of the biggest lessons I am learning is patience. It takes patience to watch a group of students struggle with completing a task I could step in and finish quickly. The funny thing is that this is both easier and harder at times than I thought it would be. Sometimes I just laugh and sit back while they figure out what can and cannot go in a microwave, other times I want to grab the hammer out of someone’s hand and put the piece of siding where it really needs to go. Then I imagine God watching me struggle through life. I have an amazing heavenly Father.
Right along with patience is perseverance. There was a specific time this week where I was working with one student leader who was definitely struggling. Honestly, I had thoughts of trying to sneak off to work with someone else. But I didn’t! I worked with him all day. It was hard. But I learned a lot! I learned how to get my frustrations out of the way in order to actually help him learn. God is so good to help me learn these things. He has had to give me a lot of grace this week.
Another thing I’ve been learning is what it really takes to be a leader. I am learning just as much as the students! Something I have struggled with is thinking that when you get into a leadership role you somehow ‘snap’ into place and have an awesome walk with God and are automatically a great leader. I now know that is not the case! I pray that God can still work through me even though I am totally inexperienced and have an incredible amount of growing to do. This week I blessed to hear the stories of all three of the adult leaders on the trip. All three of them had strong non-Christian backgrounds and made a lot of mistakes. That was encouraging to me because I see the incredible leaders that God has made them into. God blessed me this week by helping me grow in the way I think about leadership.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for the kids from the Holler. They are so sweet, but they have hard lives. Their living situations are not the best, and a lot of them do not have parents that are present in their lives. Most importantly, though, is their salvation. On the first day of VBS we asked the kids if they knew how to get eternal life. While some of them said ‘Jesus’ a lot of the kids gave other answers. Destiny said to me “you have to be nice to everyone.” And another answer was ‘you have to pray every day.” Please pray that through the course of the summer the LT staff and youth groups that come would be able to clearly communicate the gospel to these incredible children.
Pray for the team of students that just left. Coming back from a missions trip can be challenging. Especially if you’re trying to hang on to lessons that you have learned! Pray that God would give the students strength to cling to the things He has taught them through this week. Pray also that He would grant them loving friends who want to hear about the trip and who are encouraging about what God did in their lives this week.
Please pray also for the upcoming group of students! A new team comes in Sunday evening. Pray that God would be preparing their hearts for a life changing week.
Along with that, pray for the adult leaders of the trip. Another thing I learned that week is that the LT model is very hard for some adults to adopt. Especially since their job throughout the year is to teach the students. Pray that God would prepare them to try out the new role of letting the students lead, succeed, and fail right before them.
Pray for my, Larissa’s, and Shane’s growth as leaders. While the first trip was definitely a success there were still some rough spots and lots of areas that the three of us need to grow in. Please pray that God would work in each of our hearts over the weekend so that we can be used by God in a very effective way this upcoming week.
Please continue to pray for our team dynamic. As I said last week we are still growing closer and becoming better friends. Praise God for answering that prayer request from last week! This week please pray that God would fit the three of us together in such a way that the impact He can have through us would be multiplied.
For me specifically, please pray that God would continue to develop me as a leader. I would like to improve in my ability to build strong relationships with students quickly and also in my ability to challenge them and speak truth into their lives.
Pray that God would humble me in order to be used by Him.
Another struggle is being so far removed from everything I have come to know as home. Every single person this week asked me about college and it has made me realize how much I truly love Cedarville and my friends there. This has led me to think about all the ways I am growing this summer. I am already planning out the ways my sophomore year will be different from my freshman year. Pray that I would truly be changed this summer and come back to Cedarville with a renewed vigor to live out truth, and work hard to serve my heavenly Father.
Thank you so much for your prayers!! I so appreciate hearing back from you that you are praying for me. It is such a blessing.
Also, today Shane, Larissa, and I opened a P.O Box! If you feel so inclined to write to me (or in other words, to bless me beyond your wildest imagination) you can address the envelope to:
Nicole Giraud
P.O. Box 66
Fall Rock KY 40932
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
First Impressions
Thursday June 7th
Thursday morning Larissa and I were packed and standing by our silver minivan at 7:15am. Together with Shane we collected and loaded a lot of construction equipment, food, kitchen equipment, and our own personal things. We ate breakfast with the other interns that hadn’t left yet and then loaded up and were on the road around 9:15. One of the other LT teams will be spending the summer in Dayton OH so for a few hours we caravanned along the highway. We stopped randomly at a dairy farm to have an adventure but discovered that everything cost money. We resigned ourselves to walking around, taking pictures of fake cows, and laughing about everything. There was even a birthing barn that Alyssa, another intern, and I really wanted to go in. Alas, it cost money as well and for that the rest of our team was grateful. :D
Most of the car ride we made smalltalk and commented on random things we passed. I love being in the car so it was relaxing for me. We listened to music and just drove. We stopped for lunch with the Dayton team at a Chick-Fil-A. Eventually the other van turned east and Shane, Larissa, and I continued south. We each took turns telling our life stories. That was powerful for me, both to hear their stories and to tell mine. That was the first time I have shared so much about myself with people I have only known for a few days. It was a good experience. As soon as I finished it was like my soul relaxed. They know who I am now and that is so comforting. I am coming out of my shell slowly but surely :)
After a long day of driving we finally arrived in Manchester KY just after the sun set. I love how the hills squish towns sideways in Appalachia. Manchester is the county seat so there are some chain businesses such as fast foot, and even a Walmart! It is still a pretty small town though. Our home for the summer is the Manchester Christian Youth Center. The building is right next to the road on the far side of town. It is a huge open gym with a small kitchen and only one enclosed room above the gym. There is also a long hallway above the gym on one side but it is open to the rest of the building. Larissa and I moved our stuff into the one room and we stored the construction equipment in a closet like room under the stairs. Shane slept in the hallway. We’re not sure what the sleeping arrangements will be when the first team arrives. Shane is working on that. After some much needed time on the phone with family and a friend and some good prayer time, I finally fell asleep in my new home. CYC in Manchester KY.
And that brings me to today! Our first team arrives Sunday evening around dinner time so between now and then we have a lot to do. We have to shop for food, buy more construction equipment and get our heads on straight to officially begin our summer of ministry!
Prayer Requests:
You may have gleaned this from the above post, but no matter what the sleeping arrangements end up being, there will not be a lot of privacy this summer. Please pray that we would all adapt to living in close quarters and that we will have grace with one another.
Please pray that we can get everything done that we need to before the team arrives. We still have a lot to organize, and prepare before Sunday so we would appreciate prayer for efficiency.
While the three of us are getting along quite well please continue to pray that we would be good friends for one another and find our stride as a team.
Today we will be meeting with the pastor of a local church who is helping us line up work projects for the summer. Please pray that this meeting goes well and that God directs us to the families that need His love and care this summer!
Our first team comes on Sunday!! Please pray that God would be preparing the hearts of the students who are coming to serve, and also that they would give us grace because it is the first trip of the summer!
Please pray that God would be preparing me, Shane, and Larissa to minister specifically to this group of students. We want to love on them, build relationships with them, and also challenge them in their faith and development as young Christians. Please pray that God would work through us.
Lastly, pray that would would grow through this time as well. As I have said in a previous post every morning begins with 45 minutes of devo time, and while that seems like a long time, by the end of intern training I was wishing for more time. Pray that God would really work with me during that time so I can focus on serving each and every day.
One last thing: God is so good to us. I am sitting in a Starbucks writing this post and the manager of the store just gave us drinks for free. I know this is a small thing, but to me it shows that God is already blessing the work we want to do here. Praise be to God!
I am so grateful for all of my friends praying for me back home. Thank you so much to Kathryn for your encouraging texts and constant reminders of your love and support. Thank you Breanna for your incredible words of wisdom. Every time we talk you tell me exactly what I need to hear and I am so grateful for you in my life. Leelee thank you so much for your friendship, prayers, and encouraging words! And mom, thank you for always being there for me and listening to me! I’m sorry I cannot call as much as you would like. I love you!
I will talk to you again on the other side of the first trip!
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Thursday morning Larissa and I were packed and standing by our silver minivan at 7:15am. Together with Shane we collected and loaded a lot of construction equipment, food, kitchen equipment, and our own personal things. We ate breakfast with the other interns that hadn’t left yet and then loaded up and were on the road around 9:15. One of the other LT teams will be spending the summer in Dayton OH so for a few hours we caravanned along the highway. We stopped randomly at a dairy farm to have an adventure but discovered that everything cost money. We resigned ourselves to walking around, taking pictures of fake cows, and laughing about everything. There was even a birthing barn that Alyssa, another intern, and I really wanted to go in. Alas, it cost money as well and for that the rest of our team was grateful. :D
Most of the car ride we made smalltalk and commented on random things we passed. I love being in the car so it was relaxing for me. We listened to music and just drove. We stopped for lunch with the Dayton team at a Chick-Fil-A. Eventually the other van turned east and Shane, Larissa, and I continued south. We each took turns telling our life stories. That was powerful for me, both to hear their stories and to tell mine. That was the first time I have shared so much about myself with people I have only known for a few days. It was a good experience. As soon as I finished it was like my soul relaxed. They know who I am now and that is so comforting. I am coming out of my shell slowly but surely :)
After a long day of driving we finally arrived in Manchester KY just after the sun set. I love how the hills squish towns sideways in Appalachia. Manchester is the county seat so there are some chain businesses such as fast foot, and even a Walmart! It is still a pretty small town though. Our home for the summer is the Manchester Christian Youth Center. The building is right next to the road on the far side of town. It is a huge open gym with a small kitchen and only one enclosed room above the gym. There is also a long hallway above the gym on one side but it is open to the rest of the building. Larissa and I moved our stuff into the one room and we stored the construction equipment in a closet like room under the stairs. Shane slept in the hallway. We’re not sure what the sleeping arrangements will be when the first team arrives. Shane is working on that. After some much needed time on the phone with family and a friend and some good prayer time, I finally fell asleep in my new home. CYC in Manchester KY.
And that brings me to today! Our first team arrives Sunday evening around dinner time so between now and then we have a lot to do. We have to shop for food, buy more construction equipment and get our heads on straight to officially begin our summer of ministry!
Prayer Requests:
You may have gleaned this from the above post, but no matter what the sleeping arrangements end up being, there will not be a lot of privacy this summer. Please pray that we would all adapt to living in close quarters and that we will have grace with one another.
Please pray that we can get everything done that we need to before the team arrives. We still have a lot to organize, and prepare before Sunday so we would appreciate prayer for efficiency.
While the three of us are getting along quite well please continue to pray that we would be good friends for one another and find our stride as a team.
Today we will be meeting with the pastor of a local church who is helping us line up work projects for the summer. Please pray that this meeting goes well and that God directs us to the families that need His love and care this summer!
Our first team comes on Sunday!! Please pray that God would be preparing the hearts of the students who are coming to serve, and also that they would give us grace because it is the first trip of the summer!
Please pray that God would be preparing me, Shane, and Larissa to minister specifically to this group of students. We want to love on them, build relationships with them, and also challenge them in their faith and development as young Christians. Please pray that God would work through us.
Lastly, pray that would would grow through this time as well. As I have said in a previous post every morning begins with 45 minutes of devo time, and while that seems like a long time, by the end of intern training I was wishing for more time. Pray that God would really work with me during that time so I can focus on serving each and every day.
One last thing: God is so good to us. I am sitting in a Starbucks writing this post and the manager of the store just gave us drinks for free. I know this is a small thing, but to me it shows that God is already blessing the work we want to do here. Praise be to God!
I am so grateful for all of my friends praying for me back home. Thank you so much to Kathryn for your encouraging texts and constant reminders of your love and support. Thank you Breanna for your incredible words of wisdom. Every time we talk you tell me exactly what I need to hear and I am so grateful for you in my life. Leelee thank you so much for your friendship, prayers, and encouraging words! And mom, thank you for always being there for me and listening to me! I’m sorry I cannot call as much as you would like. I love you!
I will talk to you again on the other side of the first trip!
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
God Equips Those He Calls
One word to sum up the past few days: Overwhelmed
I feel overwhelmed in so many ways. I am overwhelmed by the information I have learned and the ways that I have been challenged, but also by the love and grace of God, and the huge blessing it is to be here with so many other Godly people. I am doing so well, there’s just so much to learn! The other interns and the LT staff are amazing to a mind-blowing degree. Let me tell you about the past few days.
Friday June 1st
I arrived at the LT office in the early afternoon. Interns were trickling in so we got to know each other and played cards. There are 15 of us from all over the country. Most of us go to Christian colleges, and yes I am the youngest. The other interns are so much fun! We are all friendly people who genuinely care about each other and want to get to know one another. In the evening we went to a LT staff member’s house for a cookout and to continue getting to know each other. I also met my partner Larissa, and trip leader Shane for the first time! Both are quite different from the way I pictured them in my head. Lol! The three of us are getting along really well so far. I went to bed early to prepare for my first full day.
Saturday June 2nd
LT has a very specific program for helping students develop into leaders. One component of this is devotions. Every morning on every LT trip there is a 45min quite time to do Bible study and pray, so that’s how we began Saturday! They gave us the trip book that our students will be doing all summer so we worked on the first day of that. The trip book is a study on the life of John the Baptist. Maybe I will write a post about that later on.
After devos and breakfast we had our first training session. This session was basically an overview of LT and the primary mission of the company. In the afternoon we loaded our stuff into vans and drove up to a retreat center in Wisconsin. Before we all got in the vans we were challenged to ask each other 100 questions. Dan (the executive director of our program) wanted us to use the time to intentionally get to know one another and not just waste away the time. It was definitely a unique experience! In my van we all talked about our families and answered a few random questions such as ‘if you could combine two animals to create a new animal, what would you create?’ We laughed a lot.
Once we arrived at our destination, a camp called ‘Expeditions Unlimited,’ we moved into cabins and then spent the rest of the afternoon learning more about LT and what will be expected of us.
Sunday June 3rd - Monday June 4th
Throughout the weekend we got a ton of information and grew together a lot. We laughed, a few of us cried, but mostly we grew together as brothers and sisters in Christ. I have never been a part of a Christian community quite like this one. We began being open and intentional with each really early on, and it hasn’t stopped! A lot of us have really hard stories. Some of us come from broken homes. Some of us are good at being open, and some of us are not. Some of us and goofy and silly, others are quiet. But all of us care so much about God and about each other. These brothers and sisters have been such a blessing in my life. I do not have the words to describe the impact these days have had on me but I thank the Lord that He has brought me here.
Another big part of the weekend was team initiatives. Ever done a team building game? We did at least 10. I had a blast! One of the games involved a blind person walking through a ‘mine field.’ The goal of another was to get the team through a huge cube without touching the sides. The biggest challenge came on Monday when we were given strange supplies and an hour to design and build a raft to carry seven of us, plus all of our sleeping bags. We had to swim the raft out into a lake, collect two different buoys, and make it back within the time limit and without getting any of our sleeping bags wet. We completed the challenge in an hour and two minutes. :D That was one of the most physically challenging things I did all weekend, because coming up to the shore we were running as fast as we could through the water pulling a raft with seven people on it! My thighs are still sore.
One of the best parts of the initiatives was the debrief. We would talk about what went well (who did the best job encouraging etc.) and what didn’t go so well. We made action steps about things like electing a leader for each challenge and listening to them. We challenged one another to keep our mouths shut when saying something that wasn’t helpful. We decided that at the beginning of each initiative that we should throw out some ideas and the quickly pick one and go for it. I was astounded at how productive we became! It was an honor to be a part of that team.
Tuesday the 5th
On Tuesday we packed up and headed back to the LT office. The drive home was honestly a little sad, but it was also a new beginning. As soon as we got back to the office we gathered for one last team building initiative. I won’t explain the particulars of the game but basically we all got on all fours (and the adults were involved in this one) and crawled each other’s backs. So I had almost twenty people crawl across my back three different times. FUN! I still have a lump near my spine. It was a ton of fun though. Everyone was so encouraging and we were all coaching each other on where the best place to step was on each back we crossed over. After that we ate lunch and then split into our ministry groups and began a whole new batch of training.
Shane and Larissa and I have had so many good conversations. We have laughed together, been vulnerable, and talked a lot about how the three of us will function best as members of a team. Shane, our fearless leader, is great with people. He came to the meeting genuinely wanting to get to know me and Larissa and he has said multiple times “part of my job this summer is to set you two up to succeed.” Larissa and I are growing to be great friends. She is awesome, she knows who she is, and she is so passionate about serving students and being a missionary in KY. I am so blessed to be able to serve with these two this summer! Tuesday evening we played ultimate frisbee to unwind a little, and got some sleep.
Wednesday the 6th
The whole day was spent praying, preparing, and talking. Three of us went over self assessments and talked through more LT stuff. We did devotions together and in the afternoon we began gathering things. Larissa and I raided a shed behind the LT office to come up with enough stuff to run a kitchen for 20+ people this summer. Then we began sorting nalgene bottles, cups, and spoons which will be used on a wilderness trip we will run in August. After a long full day, all of the interns gathered together one last time. We took turns encouraging every member of our group. It was so touching and bittersweet. Because our summers end at different times most of us won’t see each other again. We made vows to keep in touch and collected phone numbers and facebook names.
Tonight I will fall asleep encouraged, happy and excited for the events of tomorrow.
Some observations and thoughts:
God can make the smallest things meaningful
God has His own plan - and doesn’t always care about my plan
God puts people together for a reason
I can only follow where God leads because of God
I jump into things before I know where I am going, but God knows and He’s smiling at me while I jump
I have a lot less strength and a lot more strength than I thought I had - both in different ways.
God has a sense of humor
God provides friends when I need them
The past is a huge part of who I am
Prayer Requests:
I honestly do not know how I will have the strength to make it through a week of pouring into students. During training we were talking about the concept of finishing strong. The leader was talking about finishing the summer strong but in my mind I was thinking ‘Forget the summer, I have to get through a whole week straight!’ I believe that God will get me through but pray that I will remember that when I am 3/4 of the way through the first week.
A huge part of my role as an intern is to be developed as well as develop. This means that Shane will be evaluating me every week. Pray that I would accept the areas I need to grow and Shane’s words of wisdom with grace and take them to heart in a constructive way.
Pray that God would prepare me in any and every way I need to be prepared for this summer. I cannot see around corners and part of me feels prepared, but part of me has no clue.
LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!! :D
I feel overwhelmed in so many ways. I am overwhelmed by the information I have learned and the ways that I have been challenged, but also by the love and grace of God, and the huge blessing it is to be here with so many other Godly people. I am doing so well, there’s just so much to learn! The other interns and the LT staff are amazing to a mind-blowing degree. Let me tell you about the past few days.
Friday June 1st
I arrived at the LT office in the early afternoon. Interns were trickling in so we got to know each other and played cards. There are 15 of us from all over the country. Most of us go to Christian colleges, and yes I am the youngest. The other interns are so much fun! We are all friendly people who genuinely care about each other and want to get to know one another. In the evening we went to a LT staff member’s house for a cookout and to continue getting to know each other. I also met my partner Larissa, and trip leader Shane for the first time! Both are quite different from the way I pictured them in my head. Lol! The three of us are getting along really well so far. I went to bed early to prepare for my first full day.
Saturday June 2nd
LT has a very specific program for helping students develop into leaders. One component of this is devotions. Every morning on every LT trip there is a 45min quite time to do Bible study and pray, so that’s how we began Saturday! They gave us the trip book that our students will be doing all summer so we worked on the first day of that. The trip book is a study on the life of John the Baptist. Maybe I will write a post about that later on.
After devos and breakfast we had our first training session. This session was basically an overview of LT and the primary mission of the company. In the afternoon we loaded our stuff into vans and drove up to a retreat center in Wisconsin. Before we all got in the vans we were challenged to ask each other 100 questions. Dan (the executive director of our program) wanted us to use the time to intentionally get to know one another and not just waste away the time. It was definitely a unique experience! In my van we all talked about our families and answered a few random questions such as ‘if you could combine two animals to create a new animal, what would you create?’ We laughed a lot.
Once we arrived at our destination, a camp called ‘Expeditions Unlimited,’ we moved into cabins and then spent the rest of the afternoon learning more about LT and what will be expected of us.
Sunday June 3rd - Monday June 4th
Throughout the weekend we got a ton of information and grew together a lot. We laughed, a few of us cried, but mostly we grew together as brothers and sisters in Christ. I have never been a part of a Christian community quite like this one. We began being open and intentional with each really early on, and it hasn’t stopped! A lot of us have really hard stories. Some of us come from broken homes. Some of us are good at being open, and some of us are not. Some of us and goofy and silly, others are quiet. But all of us care so much about God and about each other. These brothers and sisters have been such a blessing in my life. I do not have the words to describe the impact these days have had on me but I thank the Lord that He has brought me here.
Another big part of the weekend was team initiatives. Ever done a team building game? We did at least 10. I had a blast! One of the games involved a blind person walking through a ‘mine field.’ The goal of another was to get the team through a huge cube without touching the sides. The biggest challenge came on Monday when we were given strange supplies and an hour to design and build a raft to carry seven of us, plus all of our sleeping bags. We had to swim the raft out into a lake, collect two different buoys, and make it back within the time limit and without getting any of our sleeping bags wet. We completed the challenge in an hour and two minutes. :D That was one of the most physically challenging things I did all weekend, because coming up to the shore we were running as fast as we could through the water pulling a raft with seven people on it! My thighs are still sore.
One of the best parts of the initiatives was the debrief. We would talk about what went well (who did the best job encouraging etc.) and what didn’t go so well. We made action steps about things like electing a leader for each challenge and listening to them. We challenged one another to keep our mouths shut when saying something that wasn’t helpful. We decided that at the beginning of each initiative that we should throw out some ideas and the quickly pick one and go for it. I was astounded at how productive we became! It was an honor to be a part of that team.
Tuesday the 5th
On Tuesday we packed up and headed back to the LT office. The drive home was honestly a little sad, but it was also a new beginning. As soon as we got back to the office we gathered for one last team building initiative. I won’t explain the particulars of the game but basically we all got on all fours (and the adults were involved in this one) and crawled each other’s backs. So I had almost twenty people crawl across my back three different times. FUN! I still have a lump near my spine. It was a ton of fun though. Everyone was so encouraging and we were all coaching each other on where the best place to step was on each back we crossed over. After that we ate lunch and then split into our ministry groups and began a whole new batch of training.
Shane and Larissa and I have had so many good conversations. We have laughed together, been vulnerable, and talked a lot about how the three of us will function best as members of a team. Shane, our fearless leader, is great with people. He came to the meeting genuinely wanting to get to know me and Larissa and he has said multiple times “part of my job this summer is to set you two up to succeed.” Larissa and I are growing to be great friends. She is awesome, she knows who she is, and she is so passionate about serving students and being a missionary in KY. I am so blessed to be able to serve with these two this summer! Tuesday evening we played ultimate frisbee to unwind a little, and got some sleep.
Wednesday the 6th
The whole day was spent praying, preparing, and talking. Three of us went over self assessments and talked through more LT stuff. We did devotions together and in the afternoon we began gathering things. Larissa and I raided a shed behind the LT office to come up with enough stuff to run a kitchen for 20+ people this summer. Then we began sorting nalgene bottles, cups, and spoons which will be used on a wilderness trip we will run in August. After a long full day, all of the interns gathered together one last time. We took turns encouraging every member of our group. It was so touching and bittersweet. Because our summers end at different times most of us won’t see each other again. We made vows to keep in touch and collected phone numbers and facebook names.
Tonight I will fall asleep encouraged, happy and excited for the events of tomorrow.
Some observations and thoughts:
God can make the smallest things meaningful
God has His own plan - and doesn’t always care about my plan
God puts people together for a reason
I can only follow where God leads because of God
I jump into things before I know where I am going, but God knows and He’s smiling at me while I jump
I have a lot less strength and a lot more strength than I thought I had - both in different ways.
God has a sense of humor
God provides friends when I need them
The past is a huge part of who I am
Prayer Requests:
I honestly do not know how I will have the strength to make it through a week of pouring into students. During training we were talking about the concept of finishing strong. The leader was talking about finishing the summer strong but in my mind I was thinking ‘Forget the summer, I have to get through a whole week straight!’ I believe that God will get me through but pray that I will remember that when I am 3/4 of the way through the first week.
A huge part of my role as an intern is to be developed as well as develop. This means that Shane will be evaluating me every week. Pray that I would accept the areas I need to grow and Shane’s words of wisdom with grace and take them to heart in a constructive way.
Pray that God would prepare me in any and every way I need to be prepared for this summer. I cannot see around corners and part of me feels prepared, but part of me has no clue.
LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!! :D
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