Since we've last spoken I've joined three new forms of online social media networking, had snakes drapped over my car-door handles twice, eaten tex-mex approximately 105 times and formed a (probably) unhealthy attachments to Capri Sun drinks. Yes, this is the life of a youth intern.
This has been my second summer working at Life Community Church in Nolensville, TN and it's definitely been one for the record books. Going into college I decided to give God my summer breaks and trust that He would use them for His glory. Well, I'll be the first to say that they have been such intense periods of refinement for me. Two years ago I worked at a christian summer camp called Pine Cove in Tyler, Texas where God broke me apart and built me back teaching me how to rely on Him as my fountain of strength. Last summer, up here in n-ville, God taught me about how the body of Christ works and my roll in ministry. Through all of these he's shown me and taught me about intentionality and building relationships for His glory. This summer, building on the hard hard labor and loneliness that I felt at some points last summer, God has been faithful to build on those first lessons and flood me with grace abundantly in my ministry here.
1. Discipleship
This summer I've been able to relish the difficult labor of building relationships last summer as the Lord has allowed them to mature and develop over the past year. I've had the opportunity to disciple a special group of High School girls as we've studied the book of Ruth and also as we've met individually throughout the summer. I have been blown away by the faithfulness of my girls at studying the Word and their eagerness to apply biblical principles to their life. Seriously, they are such a blessing and I hope that you would join me and lift up the girls of this ministry as they reach out to their friends and community.
2. Community
One incredibly special aspect of ministry here is the interesting role as an intern in the lives of students. Considering this is a small church, the youth workers spend a lot of time hanging out with the students. In fact, I live with two of the girls as my affectionately termed "seeesters" and adopted family. What this means is that work pretty much never ends- days at the church office working and coming home to prank wars, movie nights, fro-yo at Menchies, shooting off fireworks until all hours of the night, etc. This was a bit strange for me to get used to seeing as how the interns at my church growing up led a pretty distant life from us as students except for the occasional lunch or dinner with a large group of other students. But however exhausting this routine of all day work, all night hang-out, it's an incredible opportunity to basically LIVE with the students all summer. I've gotten to know so many incredible church families simply because we live beside each other. We're in and out of different family's homes borrowing movies, playing ultimate frisbee, blowing up water-balloons etc. What an incredible picture of the body of Christ at work! I'm so blessed to be a part of a community that cares so much for itself!
3. Joy
Man, I just really love to laugh. I work with the weirdest, coolest, funniest friends and they just bring me so much joy. I cry I laugh so hard at least once a day and that's such a blessing. It's also slightly dangerous when I'm the driver and my entire car is blaring and singing at the top of our lungs to "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and I'm about to pass out from lack of oxygen I'm laughing so hard. But that's beside the point, if you're a parent reading this I'm a very cautious driver :)
Me, Landon and Jay. Landon was an intern with me last year. He came up to visit everybody at the beginning of July.
Me and Rob. He's the pastoral intern here. This was an intern v. intern slip-n-slide battle. I'll let you decide who won...
3. Obedience
Though I've wrestled so much the past few months with God's calling on my life, He has made it abundantly clear this summer. I'm called to full-time international missions after I graduate in December of this year. Please pray that I would remain faithful to this calling and that I would continue to seek out and discern the Lord's will for my life.
