Week 1: Cats, New friends, and Fast Food

I've officially been in Missouri for almost a week, and despite the many setbacks to me actually arriving here, everything since that arrival has been wonderful. I met my team - three guys (Codey, Caleb, and Sully) and two other girls (Annaliese and Becca), as well as our fearless leaders (the CIY Engage staff) - the night I arrived and the next day, and almost right away I was super hopeful for the rest of the summer. The people were one of the biggest things I was looking forward to this summer, and I wasn't disappointed, because everyone so far is really great.

The past week was mainly spent in meetings and learning about our role as a group as well as our individual jobs. Our day begins at 8 am in the CIY offices, where we have morning devotions with the rest of the interns from CIY Move and Mix and also professional development training. One staff member talked about what it means to have a servant's heart, a term that's fairly common in Christianese. What stuck with me was the assertion that everybody wants to be thought of as a servant, but nobody wants to be treated like one. Obviously, right? But this is something I often fall into, and serving and loving others without expecting anything from them is a mindset I hope to get into as we move into working this summer. The staff here has a lot of wisdom to share, and there have been similar tidbits that I've gotten from every morning session we've been a part of.

Our team is super serious, if you couldn't tell

The Falls

After that, we've had meetings and training, lunch in the middle of the day, and then we end our working day by 5 pm. After that, us interns will take the van and hang out at the dorms for awhile (we're staying in dorms at Ozark Christian College) then meet up for dinner. We've had some adventures, and we've also experienced most if not all of the fast food restaurants in Joplin, so, good stuff. One afternoon, we decided to try to have a picnic, and went to a place nearby where there's a waterfall and a cliff overlooking a river. Unfortunately, I didn't realize there was going to be hiking along a rocky trail to get to the cliff, and I wore flip flops, which resulted in a stubbed toe and a whole bunch of blood. I promise I'm not as accident prone as this blog so far makes it seem! That aside, it was a beautiful day, and it was nice to get out and experience nature together.

We also went to pick up my suitcase from the Joplin airport together (sweatshirts don't make great pillows, clean clothes and toothbrushes are good things to have in your carry-on - some of the lessons I learned that day) and on the way, saw a magnificent double rainbow that stretched all the way across the sky in a perfect arc, which was pretty awesome.

More/bigger Falls

Something I came across this week throughout devotions and my own thinking through things was my sort of 'theme' for this summer and year. Last summer was characterized for me by "Be Still." God taught me a lot about listening to him and being patient and attentive to understanding more of his character and just how great he is. This summer, I think, is going to be about Passion. In one devotion, the speaker talked about the cravings that God gives us (for success, acceptance, etc.) and how we have those so that we can look to him to be satisfied. Unfortunately, it's really easy to try to satisfy those with other things - for me, (being a little bit vulnerable in a public space, yikes!), that thing is love. I have a tendency to place a lot of value on relationships with other people and to work hard and search for and find a lot of value in gaining the trust and love of these people. That in itself isn't something negative, but I also have had this hurt me deeply as well - and the reason is that I'm putting more value into these relationships than into my relationship with God.

Creek with three crosses overlooking it on Ozark's campus

Looking back, looking at my heart now, and looking into the future, what I really hope to gain from this summer is a whole new realization of how big God's love for me is and how all encompassing it is, and a rediscovery and reinvention of my passion for the Lord and for working towards his plans for me. A passage I've kept coming back to the past few months is Jeremiah 2:2, where the Lord speaks and says, "I remember how faithful you were when you were young, how you loved me when we were first married; you followed me through the desert, through a land that had not been planted." The idea of marriage is really appealing to me in general, and this idea of the church as the bride of Christ really drives the passion that I've been finding. While in Jeremiah, this is said as a rebuke to Israel for straying away from the Lord and a reminder of what they once had - it is my hope that this sort of love and devotion is something that I'll be able to really rediscover, deepen and live out now and in the future.

Honorary team cat, Bridget

All in all, I'm loving it here so far. Almost everything that I love is here! There are great people. There's nature that I've gotten to explore. I'm getting so much Jesus time. There's tons of worship music all over the place. I've even gotten the opportunity to play with not only some pretty great kids (hanging out at our boss's house), but also a whole variety of small fluffy animals. This weekend, I even went running with Annaliese and Codey - and by running, I mean we jogged a mile to a playground, played, and then walked back. Because we are adults. So even my favorite kind of running! So basically, everything is awesome.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that I do also miss my family and friends, and I very much hope that you're all doing well! Love you all lots, and I'll see you and talk to you very soon.

            

Travel Mishaps and Musings

I was up before the sun today - 4:30 a.m., bright and early. I woke up so early because today was the day I began my summer travels, interning with CIY (Christ in Youth) Engage running youth conferences all around the Midwest. The first part of the day was relatively uneventful - my parents drove me to the airport, I checked in, and before long I was in my seat on the plane without incident.

Within a few minutes, however, was my first mishap of the day. A passenger behind me lost control of her bag as she tried to lift it into the overhead compartment, and subsequently dropped it on my head. I wasn't paying attention, still being half asleep, and so it came out of nowhere - it honestly was almost sort of funny, except for the fact that it was actually pretty painful. The flight attendent was very kind and brought me ice, checking to make sure I was okay, and life went on as before (though some of the skin on my head didn't).

Because it was actually sort of hilarious in a sad kind of way

Soon, we touched down in Dallas. The layover time flew by, and soon I was boarding the plane that would take me to my final destination: Joplin, Missouri. However, the second travel mishap then took place - because of a problem with the pilot's chair, we weren't able to take off right away, and soon thereafter a storm rolled in. We ended up sitting on the plane for two hours before being deboarded and told that our flight was cancelled. 

I was able to find another flight to a different airport, and I'll make it to Joplin eventually. What I've kept coming back to this entire day, however, was a section of Eugene Cho's book, Overrated, where he talks about waiting - something I've been doing a lot of today - and getting time alone with God. As Cho discusses Chapter 4, we in America often get so caught up in our devices (guilty. super guilty.) and the idea that it is important to always be busy doing something, that we neglect to just spend time with God and listen to what he's saying to us. 

The past semester was extremely discouraging and difficult for me, for a variety of reasons. I initially drifted away from God, mainly because I was exhausted, stressed, and "too busy." However, I was broken down more and more until I realized that the only thing left for me to do to pull myself up was to turn to and lean on Him. So while I was tempted to be irritated and discouraged by the delays and mishaps I encountered today, I realized that really it's been a huge blessing - it's only the first day, and already God has created a space for me to spend extra time alone with Him. And while this does make things more inconvenient for those involved in fetching me from the airport, I can't help but feel that this is a good sign for the weeks to come. I'm very hopeful and excited to see how God is going to heal me and grow me this summer.

Because sometimes I'm pretty obstinate

Most people who know me will tell you that loving people and doing good are huge parts of who I am and what I plan to do with my life. And I just wanted to share something that Cho says that really speaks to me in this moment of my life: 

"We need to pursue justice not just because the world is broken, but because we're broken too. Pursuing justice helps us put our own lives in order. Perhaps this is what God intended - that in doing His work serving others, we discover more of His character and are changed ourselves." 

I'm looking forward to not only being able to serve those around me and the youth attending Engage, but also being able to learn and grow in the Lord through that service.