Final Post

Here is my final post for the summer. As I sit in my room during preseason for soccer, I am amazed that the summer is actually over but more so, amazed at how the Lord chose to use me.

Reflection:
This summer has been one of intense learning but tons of fun. I can not believe that it is already over but my time at Grabill Missionary Church as a youth intern was a great one. I learned so much from my total experience and can already see how what I have learned will impact my future plans. This internship and practicum were more than I imagined they would be. I had no idea what was planned for me when I walked in May 20th.
A lot of the lessons I learned over the summer were those from failure. The other three interns and myself planned a lot of events and had a lot of room to go very wrong. We had several great ideas and even though they appeared to be infallible, some of them went crazy! I have learned, however, that through failure there are a lot of lessons in ministry that can be learned. I learned that sometimes the kids will have no idea that something went wrong but that does not mean that change should not happen. I also learned that after any kind of event there should be an evaluation period to see what could have been better.
During the first four weeks we were at Grabill, we met with the head pastor Bill Lepley. He took time out of his busy schedule to invest in our lives. Our topic was about leadership and he gave us different exercises and different readings about the topic. I learned a lot from Pastor Bill and wrote several notes while he was talking. He did not have a specific plan each week other than simply talking about his experiences and asking us questions about what we think about ministry through our own experiences. The biggest thing I learned from Pastor Bill is that ministry can not be done alone. He is not a micromanager but does care about each and every program and ministry going on because he knows that without those other facets the church would not function correctly.
Going into this internship, I did not feel called to become a pastor of any kind. Now that the internship is over, I still do not feel like I am called to ministry but I do know that this was confirmed throughout the summer. Although I do not feel like the Lord is calling me into the ministry, I do know that throughout the summer I have fallen more in love with teenagers. I knew that my passion was teens coming in but now that it is over I am so excited to see what the Lord has in mind in the future. The biggest thing this summer I have learned is that God can use even me. Even though I am imperfect, sinful, and selfish, the fact that God chose to use me this summer is completely humbling. I have been stretched and have grown so much because the Lord put me in Grabill, Indiana to work at that church. I have grown spiritually, professionally, and personally in so many ways. This internship was a great tool that I know will come in handy in the future.

WEEK TEN

This week was pretty good...we had our last big event: Summer Camp. We took the youth group to Cedar Point! It was tons of fun even though I don't like roller coasters :) I was able to invest in a lot of kids while we waited in the long lines and sitting aroud the campfire at night. The weekend had its ups and downs (I forgot the hamburgers and hot dots...) but overall was successful. Friday night, I was given the opportunity to talk about my building blocks over the summer and what lessons I am not supposed to forget. It was really impacting to see all the kids begin writing some building blocks of their own and figuring out the lesson(s) that the Lord does not want them to forget about this summer and the past year. I was very encouraged.

There were some struggles with authority this weekend in which I learned a lot about myself and my fellow interns. Although the incident was non involving myself, it was interesting to observe how it played out between the groups. It was just a reminder that there will always be disagreements but the way in which we handle thouse is crucial. Like I said, overall this weekend was great!

These first few days of this week have been so much fun. We have been working little at the office and hanging out with kids a lot! Yesterday, I was able to play soccer with several junior highers and went to a movie with a couple of girls. Today, I am going to another movie with another group of my junior high girls. This has been so much fun investing in these kids lives. Tomorrow night is our last night here and we are having a share night. THe youth pastors want us to take time and talk about what we have learned over the summer. I will be posting my little "talk" as my last post coming up. It is a bittersweet feeling knowing that I am almost done. Sad to leave but excited to see what's up ahead!

Friday, August 3 - 1:30-12:00am...driving to cedar point and being a cabin leader
Saturday, August 4 - Cedar point all day
Sunday, August 5 - Arrived back at church at 12:00pm
Monday, August 6th - 9:40-1:00 planning and cleaning (hanging out with kids in the afternoon and evening)
Tuesday, August 7th - 9:30-12:30 - planning and cleaning (hanging out with kids in the afternoon)

My own personal walk this week was lagging behind but I still felt the Lord's presence. I had an amazing talk with a woman last night that I greatly respect and know that the talk was sent from the Lord. I am learning to begin seeing Him in different ways...like through this woman.

I head for school on Sunday...so I will only be blogging one or two more times!